There's Something About Rose Weasley
by spacemonkey206
Summary: If there was one thing other then her brains and the unruly bushiness of her hair that Rose had inherited from her mother, it was her stubbornness, there was no way she was going to let her father tell her who she could be friends with. Rose/Scorpius.
1. First Encounters

**There's Something About Rose Weasley**

**AN:** Hello everyone, so this is the first story that I've posted I hope you enjoy it. I'm not really sure exactly how many chapters this is going to be as of yet. Any spelling and grammar mistakes are completely my fault I did proof read but I haven't got a Beta so there may be errors, which I completely apologize for since I hate coming across errors when I'm reading, but alas we are only human and there is only so much we can do about that. Feedback is always appreciated but you don't have to review if you don't want to. I'll try and update as much as possible but my classes start Monday so I'm not sure how my opportunity for writing I will have. Thanks, no on with the story.

Disclaimer: Yup definitely do not own anything. Just borrowing some characters and some quotations for a little while.

Chapter 1- First Encounters

Hermione Weasley smiled to herself as she watched her husband talk with their young daughter as they stood on platform 9 ¾ getting ready to see her off to her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "If you're not in Gryffindor, We'll disinherit you" Her husbands voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Ron!" she exclaimed, swatting him on the shoulder, knowing that he wasn't serious but judging by the looks on her daughter and nephews faces they didn't. "He doesn't mean it." She assured the two eleven year old who looked a little more relaxed with her assurances, though not much. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron and Harry staring at someone through the mist. Following their line of sight, Hermione saw Draco Malfoy standing on the platform with his wife and son.

"So that's little Scorpius" She her Ron say under his breath. Her husband bent down towards their daughter. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains," Hermione smiled slightly as her daughter looked questioningly at her father from under her deep red bangs, curiosity filling her wide hazel eyes.

"Ron for heaven's sake" Though she would never admit it, the fact that he was pointing Scorpius out to their daughter amused her. She loved how Ron could be so completely oblivious to the potential consequences of his actions, but she supposed that it was a part of his charm. "Don't try and turn them against each other before they've even started school."

"You're right, sorry," said Ron. She smiled at how easily she could get him to agree with her. "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood." Hermione bit back a laugh at the expression on her daughters face. It was a mixture of shock that quickly changed to a look of determination that only present when Rose was concentrating very hard on analyzing something she had learned. She also saw a flash of stubbornness in her daughter's eyes. Hermione had a funny feeling that before the end of Rose's seven year at Hogwarts, her husband would be eating his words.


	2. To Hogwarts

**AN:** Thanks to those that reviewed the first chapter, I always enjoy feed back of any sort whether it be really positive or constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is one of my favourite things so don't hesitate to give me some. Also suggestions are welcome. This chapter is quite a bit longer then the last one.

Disclaimer: Yup definitely do not own anything. Just borrowing some characters and some quotations for a little while.

Chapter 2- To Hogwarts

Rose Weasley dragged her cousin Albus Potter down the corridor of the Hogwarts express searching for an empty compartment to sit in, everywhere seemed to be full. "Why don't we just go and find James?" Albus asked her.

"You can," she told her cousin as she stopped in front of a compartment that had only one occupant. "I'm going in here."

The compartments only occupant looked over at the door at the cousins. "But isn't that..." Albus looked at his feet. "Didn't your dad..."

Rose placed her hand on the door handle. "Are you coming or not?" She opened the compartment and slipped inside, a reluctant Albus in tow. "Hi, I'm Rose Weasley and this is my cousin Albus Potter." She greeted the boy cheerfully.

"I know who you are. My dad told me to stay away from your family. You lot are nothing but trouble." The blonde boy spat at the cousins. Rose was slightly taken aback by the tone in this boys voice.

"Come on Rose, let's go find James. Obviously some people seem to think that they are above the rest of us, we're clearly not welcome here." Rose looked at her cousin pointedly. "You should listen to what your father said Rosie, there are some people that we shouldn't be friends with."

"Oh come off it Albus, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." If there was one thing other then her brains and the unruly bushiness of her hair that Rose had inherited from her mother, it was her stubbornness, there was no way she was going to let her father tell her who she could be friends with.

"Suit yourself." Albus pushed the door open again and went to find his brother.

"Sorry 'bout him, he's just a little nervous about starting school, that's all. He's really nice once you get to know him. Anyways, you're Scorpius Malfoy right? My dad pointed you out on the platform, told me to stay away from you. It's not my fault that my parents and your dad didn't get along when they were in school, just because they weren't friends doesn't mean that we couldn't be. I mean I love my parents but I'm not about to got let my dad tell me who I should be friends with." The train began to move slowly away from the station as they began the trip to Hogwarts. "Oh I'm so excited! I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, I've read all about it in Hogwarts: A History. My mother gave me the newest edition when I was six, I've read it at least 15 times, it's rather fascinating. Did you know-"

"Do you ever stop talking." The boy sneered at her

"Sorry, I'm just really excited. Aren't you excited. Oh I can't wait this is going to be so much fun. I'm really looking forwards to all the subjects we get to study this year, it's all so unbelievable. What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Slytherin." He said curtly.

"I think I'll probably end up in Gryffindor, both my parents were Gryffindor and my dad's family has been in Gryffindor for ever. My cousins keep telling me that they think I'm going to end up in Ravenclaw because I love reading so so much, which I suppose wouldn't be the worst thing ever, though my dad did threaten to disinherit me if I didn't end up in Griffindor like the rest of my family. My cousin Albus is terrified that he's going to end up in Slytherin his brother keeps telling him that he's going to end up there. I don't know why he's so scared to end up in Slytherin it's not like it's a group of evil people or anything, just because Voldemort was a Slytherin doesn't mean the lot are horrible people. I wouldn't care if he did end up there but I think he'll be a Griffindor, he just too much like my Uncle Harry not to end up there. Oh this is all so exciting. Do you play Quidditch? I love Quidditch so much. I've been playing with my family since I was a little kid. My mother never plays though, hates flying. One of the only things that she isn't very good at, so I guess I got it from my dad. He was a keeper when he was at school, I like playing chaser though, I'm not allowed to play beater anymore during our family games ever since this one time when-"

"Will you please just shut up and leave me alone." Scorpius spat at the red head across from him. She looked down at her hands. "I have no interest in speaking to you. Unlike some people I choose to respect my fathers wishes and stay away from certain people." Rose looked up at him her hazel eyes wide with something that Scorpius couldn't quite place. Seconds later the small red head stood up, and for a second he thought that she was going to leave, but instead she pulled a large book out of her bag and began to read. Scorpius was surprised by this girl, most kids would have left him alone when he told them too, probably because they were terrified that he might hurt them, actually most kids wouldn't have even entered his compartment in the first place. His father warned him that the other kids may resent him because of who his father was, but Scorpius didn't believe it until he actually got on the train. The whispers and the looks that the others were giving him stung him to the core, not that he'd ever admit it to anyone. He decided that he would be perfectly content sitting alone in his compartment, he didn't need any of them, they could judge him all they wanted. Then she came in. Her bushy dark red hair that seemed to have a mind of it's own, her large hazel eyes wide with wonder. As luck would have it the only person who was willing to talk to him had to be a Weasley, and she is the one person who he expected to resent him, given the history between the Malfoy's and the Weasley's. He looked at the little red head across from him, barely visible behind the massive book that she was reading. There was definitely something different about Rose Weasley.


	3. Dinner and Surprises

Disclaimer: Yup definitely do not own anything. Just borrowing some characters and some quotations for a little while.

Chapter 3- Dinner and Surprises

Rose entered the great hall along with all of the other first year students, her eyes wide with amazement as she looked around the large room. It was one thing to be told about this place, to read about it, but to actually see it was more then Rose had ever imagined in her wildest dreams. The enchanted celling was charmed to resemble the night sky, white candles floating throughout the entirety of the hall. She glanced around at the four long tables that sat in the hall, one for each house. She glanced over at the Griffindor table, seeing her cousins James, Victorie and Dominique sitting there chatting with their housemates as everyone waited for the sorting ceremony to begin.

Professor McCree, a rather small, portly, mousy looking woman waddled out to where a stool sat with an old hat sitting on top of it with a roll of parchment in her hand. "Now when I call your name, you will come here and sit on the stool, I will place the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses." Her loud voice boomed out, making the students at the front of the group take a few steps backwards. "Let's get on with it. Arbany, Tilly" An awkwardly tall blonde girl with straight hair the colour of straw made her way to the front of the group taking a seat on the stool and having the old hat placed on her head. After a few seconds of musing the sorting hat shouted out "Hufflepuff!" and the young girl bounded down to meet her new house mates. Rose looked around, meeting the eyes of her cousin Albus as the sorting continued. "Malfoy, Scorpius" The blonde boy from the train strutted to the front of the crowed and took his seat on the wooden stool with a smirk on his face. Everyone in the hall was murmuring as the Professor placed the sorting hat on his head, slightly shocked that 'Slytherin' hadn't been called out immediately as rumor had it, it had for his father.

"Hmmm, now what do we have here" the sorting hat mused, "a Malfoy, yet I sense something different about you. Cunning yes, there is definitely a hint of Slytherin in the blood, but I sense something else. Wonderful mind, and a good heart. Better be... Ravenclaw." The hall went deathly silent, no one suspected that a Malfoy would end up in any house other then Slytherin. Rose observed the blonde boy as he slowly climbed down off the stool and made his way on shaky legs over to the Ravenclaw table. He looked paler to her, if that was even possible. He climbed onto the bench and sat there staring blankly at the wall.

"Potter, Albus" the mousy woman barked. Rose brought her attention back at the mention of her cousins name. Her cousin made his way up to the front and Rose gave him a thumbs up as a means of encouragement. Professor McCree placed the hat atop her cousins raven hair. "So much like your father you are boy, better be Griffindor!" The hat exclaimed seconds later. Albus visibly relaxed hearing this and happily bounded over to join his brother and cousins.

"See James, I told you I wouldn't be Slytherin." she heard her cousin tell his brother proudly. Rose laughed. The sorting continued until she was the only one left. "Weasley, Rose" her name was finally called and she approached the stool. Hopping up she had the hat placed upon her, and bit her bottom lip nervously as she awaited her placement.

"HA!" The hat exclaimed, startling the small red head. "Another Weasley!" She continued to chew her lip with nerves. "Quite the mind you have though, must have gotten that from your mother. A love for books I see in you and a kind heart, but where to put you. Hmm difficult, very difficult." More lip chewing ensued and she began to taste blood, only the realizing that she was doing it. "Alright, Ravenclaw!" The hat finally announced. She felt her stomach drop a bit in disappointment that she would not be joining the rest of her family at the Griffindor table but all the same she bounded over to the Ravenclaw table taking the first available seat she saw. Looking up she met a pair of steel grey eyes belonging to the blonde boy from the train. He scoffed at her, and she averted her eyes as the headmaster announced the beginning of the feast.

Rose pushed her food around on her plate, finding that she wasn't hungry. She was not looking forwards to telling her father that she wasn't in his beloved Griffindor, that her cousins had been right and she would be sporting blue and bronze for the next seven years of her life. She knew her mother would be proud of her no matter what, but her father would be so disappointed. She was the first Weasley in generations that had not been a Griffindor.

She snuck a glance at the blonde boy across from her, noticing that his demenor was very similar to hers. From what she knew of the Malfoy's, she knew that she was not the only one dreading telling their parents the results of the sorting. If she was worried about how her father was going to react, she could only imagine what was going through his mind.

**AN:** I know nothing too exciting happened in this chapter, but I felt it necessary. Reviews are very welcome! It was also pointed out to me that Teddy Lupin wouldn't have been at school anymore. Completely my mistake I completely didn't even process that.


	4. Letters Home

**Chapter 4- Letters Home**

**Disclaimer:** Own nothing.

**AN: Hello all, okay so I'm not to sure about this chapter I had a really hard time writing it. I had some form of idea in my head but well the characters decided that they didn't feel like cooperating with me today so it ended up a little differently then I thought it would. Anyways let me know what you think. **

Never did Rose believe that she would ever dread writing a letter to her parents, but as she sat by the fire in the Ravenclaw common room, her quill poised above a scrap of parchment, that dread was exactly what she was feeling. She sighed loudly, blowing her bangs out of her eyes for the hundredth time since she sat down. She had no clue how she was going to break the news to her parents that she was, in fact, going to be sporting blue and bronze for the next seven years, not red and gold. Her mother, she had no doubt would be proud of her, not caring that she wasn't in Gryffindor, for she herself had almost landed in Ravenclaw. Her father on the other hand, she was scared about his reaction. Though her mother had assured her that her father had been kidding when he threatened to disinherit her if she landed herself in a house other then Gryffindor, she knew that he was going to be disappointed that his daughter was the only Weasley to not be a Gryffindor. Letting out another sigh, she began scribbling out a letter to her parents.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" A voice sneered behind her. "Breaking the news to daddy that you are a lowly little Ravenclaw and not a big strong Gryffindor like the rest of your pathetic family? They are going to be so disappointed in you."

"You're such a bloody hippocrite, Malfoy." Rose told him as she continued writing. "I can only imagine what your father is going to say when you tell him that you're not in Slytherin. Shared the good news yet? Or are you cowering at the thought of what he's going to do when he finds out?"

"I'll get to it. Besides, my mother was in Ravenclaw." He snarled.

"You can't avoid it forever Malfoy."

"I can try." He muttered under his breath.

"Sorry I didn't catch that."

"It's none of your concern Weasel. Don't you have a father to disappoint?"

She smirked. "Just as well, he'll probably disown you."

"My father would never disown me." He defended. "Didn't your father threaten to do the same thing to you? Not that I could blame him, who would want a hideous, bushy haired, brainiac that never shuts up like you for a daughter. But then again, from what my father tells me, your mother was like that too, and your dad still married her..."

"I cannot believe that I tried to become your friend. I bet you're an even bigger prat then your father was, and from what my parents tell me, that's quite the accomplishment." She stood up, letter abandoned on the table by the fire. "I thought that maybe, just maybe you were different from what my parents had told me about the rest of your family. I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and try and get to know you before I judged you like everyone else, the rest of my family included, seems to. I thought that maybe you'd like some one to be nice to you for a change and not go whispering around behind your back about your family history and how they bet you were no different. When you weren't put in Slytherin, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I had been right about you, but obviously I was sorely mistaken. My father was right to warn me away from you."

"I'd rather be a prat then horribly disfigured. How could you think that I would want to be friends with you, no one, in their right mind would ever want to come near you. Your face disgusts me. Your hair is revolting and overly bushy, and your lips are too big." She could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Just face it Weasel, you are going to die alone as an ugly old maid with no one but-" He was cut off mid rant by her small knuckles connecting with his face with a surprising amount of force, emitting a satisfying crunch. He stumbled backwards, tripping over the table but managed to keep his footing, as everyone else that was witnessing their row sat there gaping, unsure of what had just happened. She stood there for a moment, eyes wide at what she'd done before gathering her belongings and leaving the common room.

"You're going to pay for that Weasel. Mark my words."

Rose ran out of the Ravenclaw common room as fast as her little legs could carry her. She didn't have a clue where she was going, she just knew that she needed to get as far away from him as possible. She was so stupid. How could she have ever thought that he could be any different? Sometimes she hated just how much like her mother she was. She kept running until she couldn't anymore, and only then did she realize that she was shaking like a leaf. She couldn't believe that she had actually hit him. In the face. Hard. She huffed to her self. Just as well, the sod deserved it. He had no right to say those things to her, even if he was right. It wasn't fair that he pointed out her biggest fears in front of the whole Ravenclaw common room, and the way that James said gossip spread around Hogwarts, she had no doubt that come tomorrow morning the entire school was going to know about what happened that night. It was only her first night in the castle and so far, things were going just wonderfully.

All the years that she had dreamed of coming to this wonderful place, learning spells, being at the top of her class, playing Quidditch, it was safe to say that it was not living up to expectations. She looked out over the grounds from where she was standing in the astronomy tower, before sitting down on the edge and writing her parents.

_ Dear Mom and Dad,_

_ I'm sitting up in the astronomy tower writing this letter to you. Let's just say that so far, Hogwarts isn't exactly what I expected it to be. I mean don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful place, I cannot believe that I'm saying this, but the books didn't do this place justice. I know what your thinking, if it's so wonderful, then why am I sitting up in the Astronomy tower, instead of meeting my fellow classmates? Lets just say that nothing seems to be going my way. First off, on the train I met none other then Scorpius Malfoy, and decided that I was going to try being nice to him. He wasn't too bad, but definitely not the nicest person I have ever met. Within moments of introducing myself he seemed to make it his personal goal to antagonize me. Anyways, in comparison to the rest of my day, that was seemingly the high point. We entered the great hall for the sorting ceremony, and naturally Albus was rather pleased to prove his brother wrong by landing himself in Gryffindor. I on the other hand landed myself in Ravenclaw-Dad please don't be mad- along with non other then that conniving, shiny haired prat Malfoy. Safe to say everyone was shocked, on both accounts. Anyways, I wish that I could say that learning that I had disappointed my father was the worst part of it. Now please don't be angry, but I managed to get into a fight with the aforementioned prat in the middle of the common room. I was sitting by the fire trying to find the words to tell you that I was a disappointment to the Weasley name, which he so kindly pointed out to me, so I so kindly pointed out that he was a bloody hippocrite- sorry mom- seeing as he is in the exactly same boat as I am. Anyways things escalated and we started yelling at each other, and he started insulting me. I promised that I wouldn't let it get to me but then, he told me that I was going to be alone forever, that nobody was ever going to like me, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I punched him. In the face. I'm sorry, I know that you're going to be disappointed in me, but I was not going to let some greasy haired git get away with it._

_ I'm sorry again. _

_ Love Always,_

_ Rosie_

Rose quickly read over her letter before hurrying to the owlery to send it off before she lost her nerve. After sending the letter off with her Northern White Faced Owl Harriet, Rose quickly made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room, before she got herself into anymore trouble.


	5. Apologies and Quidditch

Chapter 5- Apologies and Quidditch

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own.

**AN: Hello everyone. I was trying to get this up yesterday, but alas that didn't seem to be in the cards, night class has a way of altering plans. I was hoping that it would end early seeing as it was the first class of the year and normally they do. Apparently not the two I had yesterday. I got the idea for this chapter while I was sitting in my Ontario Archaeology class yesterday afternoon. Three hour lectures tend to do that kind of thing. It's a bit different then what I had originally planned for this chapter, but I think I like it better. Anyways I'm going to shut up now I've rambled for too long. Reviews are much appreciated, I'm coming to understand why everyone loves getting them so much. Anyways on with the story **

As Scorpius walked into the great hall the next morning, he could feel everyones eyes on him. He had no doubt that by now the entire school had probably heard about his row in the common room with Rose the previous night. It had been quite the altercation and Hogwarts was infamous for it's gossip mill.

As he made his way towards the Ravenclaw table he specifically noted the icy glares that every Potter and Weasley were giving him. They could have put his father to shame. He sat down at his house table and began to eat his breakfast, feeling an unsettling sense of relief that people were no longer whispering about him because he was the spawn of a death eater, but because he was the prat who had insulted the one person in the entire school who had actually been nice to him and had managed to get her so worked up that she had punched him, and Merlin could that girl throw a punch, he had the bruised nose to prove it. She had actually broken his nose, but the medi-witch in the infirmary had been nice enough to fix it for him, but when he woke up this morning his nose had a nice deep black-purple bruise covering it.

He really didn't know why he had done it, he supposed that she intrigued him. Ever since the train ride when she had blatantly ignored him when he told her to leave him alone, instead she sat down and started talking to him. She hadn't even left when he had been intolerably rude to her, so he supposed he wanted to see just how far he could push her. Apparently, he could push her pretty far. He had lied to her on the train when he told her that he respected his father's wishes. Frankly he could care less what his father thought, after all his father was a discriminating prat who still believed that pure bloods were superior to everyone else. Scorpius personally thought that all this pureblood stuff was crap. Unfortunately for him the moment anyone in the school heard the name 'Malfoy' they thought of his father and his grandfather and assumed that he was exactly the same, when in fact he wasn't. He probably hated his father and grandfather more then anyone else in this entire school. The only reason he had lashed out last night he supposed was because she had been right on the money when she said he was too scared to tell his father that he had landed himself in Ravenclaw along with her.

In his anger last night, he had done nothing but spew lies to her. It had started off as innocent, playful teasing about the fact that neither of them had wound up in the expected houses, she had called him a hippocrite and proceeded to tease him about being just as scared about what his father was going to say as she was. She'd been right. He was terrified at what his father was going to do, he hoped that his mother would be able to calm him, after all, his mother had been a Ravenclaw, so at least he had that going for him. But in that moment last night he lost it and started insulting her, telling her that no one would ever like her and she'd be alone forever. But he didn't stop there, no, he proceeded to obliterated the proverbial line and tell her that she was going to be alone forever. The moment the words began leaving his mouth he knew he had gone too far. He saw the tears in her eyes, and his stomach dropped. For a minute he though that she was going to run away and set her cousins on him, but instead, she had punched him. Hard. Right in the face, and he had deserved it too. He'd actually gotten off lightly, but as she turned and ran out of the common room he couldn't help but yell to her that she was going to pay for that little stunt, which had been another lie. He'd known that girl for barely a day and he'd already made a habit of lying to her.

Scorpius let out a frustrated sigh, knowing full well that he needed to apologize to her, but he had a funny feeling that she wouldn't be very receptive to that. He honestly wouldn't blame her if she didn't, he didn't deserve her forgiveness or her kindness. He was a prat, and he'd proved it last night. None the less, he knew that he had to try.

He saw a mass of unruly red curls near the doorway of the Great Hall, and he knew that it was her. Nobody else in the school had hair like hers, a deep red unlike that of her cousins all sporting either the traditional Weasley ginger or the Potter black and flyaway curls that just couldn't be tamed, even though her hair was tied back. He stood up and walked towards her.

"What do you want?" She spat, in a venomous tone that he was sure would make even the Slytherins shudder. "Didn't insult me enough last night? Do you want to have a go at my clothes, or my intelligence? Oh or maybe my family? That would be rich."

"No... I mean yes... I mean... What?"

"Or I suppose you're here to, what was it that you said? Make me pay for what I did? Well then, have at it Malfoy, it's not like it could be any worse then what you said last night so, let have it then." He face was emotionless and stoic, and it scared him a bit.

"I'm... uh"

"Oh spit it out Malfoy, I don't have all day." He could tell she was getting frustrated, he expression changing a bit, he cheeks flushed with a slight twinge of pink.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"You're sorry?" She wasn't buying it, and he knew it.

"Yes. I'm sorry for what I said to you last night, I didn't mean it I was just upset because you were right. I was afraid of what my father was going to say, so I guess I took it out on you. I didn't mean any of it Rose and I'm sorry if-"

"Oh save it Malfoy, even if any of that was true, give me one good reason why I should accept your apology?" He was silent. "You pointed out everything that I hate about myself, every flaw and insecurity that I have about myself IN FRONT OF MY ENTIRE HOUSE!" Everyone in the Great Hall was staring at them now, she either didn't notice or didn't care. He decided to not point it out. "And you're sorry? You know what Malfoy, sometimes 'I'm sorry I didn't mean it.' just doesn't cut it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late." She turned to leave.

"Late? For what? Classes don't start until nine." He said confidently. She turned to face him once again.

"You honestly can't be that thick can you?" It was only then he noticed her attire and the Lightning 500 that was clutched in her tiny fist. "Quidditch tryouts start in fifteen minutes."

"You're trying out for Quidditch? You'll never make it. First years never do." He said pointedly, recieving in turn a glare from him that made his stomach churn unpleasently.

"My Uncle Harry did." She challenged, moving closer to him.

"Oh yes, the high and mighty Harry Potter. Well of course he did, he's well him!" He exclaimed in annoyance. "No one has since him and that was almost thirty years ago." She brought her face really close to his. He gulped.

"Just watch me." She spun on her heel again and marched with determination out of the Great Hall.

She made the team of course, apparently her tryout had been flawless, she hadn't missed a shot. From that point on, she made it her personal goal to out do him in everything that she could. He was second in their class only to her, she was the only person who could beat him in wizards chess and the only one in class who could answer questions faster then him. Over the course of the next few years the two of them had developed a sort of rivalry. He'd learned pretty quickly that telling Rose Weasley that something was out of her reach, just made her even more determined to prove you wrong. They had managed to maintain a sort of truce between the two of them throughout the next couple years of their schooling at Hogwarts. Everything was going smoothly right up until the beginning of their fourth year.

**AN: Originally I was going to have Draco send Scorpius a howler... but well I tried to write it and it just came out awkward so I think this worked out better. Let me know what you think :)**


	6. Changes and Confrontations

**Chapter 6- Changes and Confrontations**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone, I know I'm finally updating. Sorry it took so long. This chapter has actually been partially written since Wednesday but with classes having officially started last week I've been buried in hundreds of pages of readings for my classes. I honestly think I've read at least two hundred pages worth of stuff this week, and I still have more but frankly this is just so much more fun. I'm still working on part 3 of my other stories Her Rock and His Rose. Title problems mainly, but that one should be up hopefully sometime this week. Anyways this is a really really long chapter, I was debating splitting in into two but there's not really a place where I can do that with out it being awkward so it's just ended up being a really really long chapter. Please let me know what you think. **

Scorpius Malfoy contently sat alone in his compartment on the Hogwarts Express, just as he had for the past two years. Since first year, he had managed to become friendly with a couple of other students, but he wouldn't really call any of them friends. Everybody in that school was quite content in judging him for who his father was and what he'd done, with out taking the chance to actually get to know Scorpius. He acted as though he didn't care, being pompous and arrogant around everyone and just focused on his studies.

He was second in the class, only to one Rose Weasley, who just so happened to be the only person in the entire school who had been willing to give him a chance, who hadn't judged him, but he blew it. He had made sure that she would never see him as anything more ten that obnoxious, rude Malfoy prat and he knew that she had every right to. She had offered him her friendship and he responded by insulting her, spewing a stream of lies that he knew hurt her deeply.

The two of them had managed to be civil over the past years since the incident in the common room first year, only interacting with one another when absolutely necessary, he'd made sure of it. He'd even made the Quidditch team in third year, a Chaser, just like she was. To everyones surprise, they made a remarkable team. Their captin, Evangeline Wood, had been skeptical at first about the two of them being able to get along, but they worked wonderfully together, leading Ravenclaw to victory for the fifth year running. He remembered how happy Rose had been when they beat out her cousins on the Gryffindor team, yet again, for the Quidditch cup.

The door of his compartment slid open, startling him out of his thoughts as Rose Weasley herself, stumbled into his compartment. He looked at her, half expecting her to turn and leave, but instead she smiled slightly, shut the door and sat down across from him. "Weasley."

"Malfoy."

"To what to I owe this honour?"

"Sorry, everywhere else was full. Just ignore me." She pulled out one of her massive books and began reading. He smiled slightly at just how much this situation reminded him of when they first met.

She had, of course, changed quite a lot since then. She was taller, her hair had tamed, now falling is soft curls down her back instead of flying out everywhere and she had gain a much more womanly figure, not that he was looking or anything of the sort. He watched her bright hazel eyes darting back and forth across each page, looking away quickly when she glanced up, hoping that she hadn't noticed him staring at her. There was a thick tension that had built between them in the compartment, hanging awkwardly in the air for the remainder of the train ride.

The arrival at Hogwarts had been a little bit different then it usually was. Upon arrival at the school they were quickly ushered to the carriages as usual and made their way into the castle. After proceeding with the sorting ceremony, the Headmistress announced that this year, the Tri-Wizard Tournament would be returning to Hogwarts.

Excited whispers filled the Great Hall at the prospect of taking part in the tournament. With the threat of Voldemort no longer looming over the school as it had been last time the tournament had been held on Hogwarts grounds, witches and wizards of any age would be allowed to put forth their name to be selected as on of the champions.

Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor table and could see James Potter, probably boasting about how he'd be a Tri-Wizard Champion just as his father had. He snuck a quick glance at Rose, who was sitting beside him, and saw her shaking her head at the way that her cousin was acting.

"Are you going to submit your name?" She was now looking intently at him.

"I don't think so." He muttered

"Really? Why not? I think that you would be an excellent choice." She laughed at the shocked expression that he knew he was sporting. It was one of the most wonderful sounds that he had ever heard in his entire life.

"What about you?" He asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"You're the most brilliant person in our year, if not the entire school. Why not? Eternal Glory not sound appealing to you?"

She scoffed at him. "When your parents are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, two thirds of the Golden Trio, eternal glory is the last thing you need more of. What about you? You've got to be at least as brilliant as me." If anyone else had said that, he would have thought them to be boasting. "You really should."

She laughed again at his expression, he didn't think that he would ever tire of hearing that wonderful sound. He never got the chance to respond to her because the Headmistress introduced the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang who would once again be joining them for the tournament.

After the feast ended that night, Scorpius decided to take the long way back to Ravenclaw tower as he thought about what had occurred that day. He wondered why all of the sudden it seemed that Rose was being friendly towards him again, but then again he hadn't seen much of her over the past few years since he did his best to avoid her. He was brought out of his thoughts by two voices arguing loudly around the corner.

"Would you two just come off it." He knew that voice. "He's just as deserving as anyone else in the school."

"Oh, how cute. Protecting your pathetic excuse for a boyfriend." A male voice snarled.

"Scorpius is not my boyfriend." She said firmly, and he felt a bit of a twinge in his chest when she said it and froze, just as he was about to come around the corner. That unpleasant twinge was soon replaced with happiness. "You're only being a jealous git because you know that he would make a much better champion then you ever could imagine.

"That skinny little twirp? Ha, right! He has about as good of a chance as you do of making it. It takes a real man to win this thing." Scorpius could feel his blood beginning to boil. This guy had no right to speak to Rose that way.

"That's a load of rubbish and you know it. The guy had hit a nerve, he could feel the venom in her voice.

"Well what are you going to do about it? Go tell your Mudblood mother on us?" Scorpius rounded the corner just in time to see her fist crush his nose, blood spurting out as he clasped his hands over his nose. Scorpius winced, remembering the feeling of being on the receiving end of one of her punches. The second Slytherin, who was at least as large as the first one began moving towards her, his wand drawn.

"You stupid little mudblood bitch" The large boy continued to advance on her. "You are going to regret that." Before she could even fully draw her wand, the boy collapsed in front of her withering in pain as large puss filled boils began sprouting up all over his face and arms. Rose looked up her wand in hand, to see Scorpius standing there, the hand holding his wand trembling slightly. Scorpis quickly put his wand into his pocket and walked over to Rose.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. She just nodded, still clutching her wand as if her life depended on it. Scorpius looked at the two large Slytherins sitting on the ground, hopelessly trying to fix what had been done to them. "You did good."

"Eh-hem" The two Ravenclaw's froze, turning slightly coming face to face with their Herbology Professor. "You two." He pointed at the Slytherins, go to the hospital wing now." He turned back to Scorpius and Rose, both of whom were finding their shoes awfully interesting at the moment. "As for you two, you have some explaining to do. I cannot fathom what would poses the two top fourth years to attach two seventh years." Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat him to it.

"He insulted me and my mother. He called us both mudbloods, and I lost my temper and broke his nose. His friend began threatening me, he had his wand drawn and was coming towards me, so I hexed him in my own defense. Scorpius just came around the corner and was making sure that I was okay. He had nothing to do with it." Scorpius opened his mouth to correct her, but she shot him a look so he remained silent. He couldn't believe that for the second time today she was defending him.

"Fifteen points will be taken from Ravenclaw for the serious lack of judgement on your part Rose, and you will meet me in Greenhouse Four in an hour to serve detention." Having said that, he turned around and left. Rose made to leave as well, but was stopped when Scorpius grabbed her wrist.

"Why did you do that?" He asked her.

"Do what?" She asked coyly.

"You know very well what I mean Rose, I'm as much to fault as you are for the condition of those two gits." She shrugged, and the two of them began to walk.

"I suppose that I felt that people give you a hard enough time already, you don't need the fact that you helped beat up two seventh year Slytherins hanging over you two. People in this school are never particularly nice to you, and you don't deserve it." He was taken aback by the sincerity in her tone. He smiled slightly.

"And here I was, thinking that you hated me." He told her honestly. She stopped suddenly, spinning around to face him.

"I have never hated you Scorpius."

"But first year..."she laughed.

"Okay, so maybe I hated you for like a week, but you deserved it. I tried to be friends with you and you responded by insulting me." She playfully nudged his shoulder with hers.

"I honestly didn't mean any of it Rose. Seriously. I was just angry and upset at my dad, at myself, at everyone for not giving me a chance to prove that I'm not my father, and I took it out on you. You didn't deserve any of that, and I meant it when I said I was sorry. When I saw the tears in your eyes, I thought I was going to be sick, but I was just so angry I couldn't stop myself from projecting all my insecurities onto you." He glanced down.

"You're not alone Scorpius." She grabbed his hand squeezing it softly as she looked up at his pale grey eyes, so full of pain and sadness that it absolutely broke her heart. "It's not fair that people judge you because of who your parents are. I've been put on such a high pedestal because of who my parents are, they expect so much from me that sometimes I just want to find a small dark place and stay there, away from all the prying eyes and expectations. My brother and cousins feel it too, but I get it worse because I'm not in Gryffindor like they are. I get the people that come up and pick on me because I didn't meet their expectations of the daughter of two thirds of the Golden Trio and it drive me nuts. I know that you've had it so much worse then us Scorpius because of what your father did, but I know what you mean when you say that you're angry at everyone for judging you because of who your parents are. That's why I never have." They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they began walking towards Ravenclaw tower once again.

"Thanks." He said after a few minutes, scratching the back of his neck with his hand as he did so. She looked at him curiously. "For everything, for not judging me, for forgiving me, for defending me." She blushed an adorable shade of pink. "Twice." Her blush deepened.

"No problem. Everyone needs a friend." She smiled at him sweetly.

"So we're friends now are we?"

"Only if you want to be." He smiled, a bright genuine smile for the first time since he got his Hogwarts letter four years ago.

"I'd like that." She beamed at him, before glancing at her watch.

"Bloody Hell." he laughed, her father had been famous for cursing too. "I'm going to be late for my detention with Neville... I mean Professor Longbottom." He laughed at her slip up. Everyone knew that Professor Longbottom was an old friend of her parents. "See you later Scorp." She waved and dashed off to the greenhouses.

Scorpius remained standing in the hall way for another few minutes trying to process the events that had occurs that day. If someone had told him when he woke up this morning that by the end of the day he would be friends with Rose Weasley, he would have thought them to have gone completely mad. He shook his head, his white blonde hair falling into his eyes, finding himself surprisingly looking forwards to school for the first time in his life.

**AN: I know the arrival of the champions didn't occur until the day before Halloween in the book, but for the purposes of this story they're arriving in September along with the Hogwarts students. Also I can't believe that putting the tournament in here actually ended up working with the it occurs every 5 years time line. That was a total fluke.**


	7. Family Fun

Chapter 7- Family Fun

**Disclaimer: **Do not own.

**AN: Hey everyone so first off I'd like to say thanks to all my readers and in particular to my reviewers. I'm kinda starting to understand why people love reviews so much, I'm getting addicted to them. I love hearing what other people think of my stories even if it's just one word or a smiley face, I appreciate the feedback. Anyways I'm quite enjoying this story and I'm glad that you guys are too! Apparently I'm gaining a knack for writing long chapters. This is the second chapter in a row that is over two thousand words long. Please read and review!**

Rose trudged through Hogsmeade towards a small shop that was off the beaten track of the village, the cold air of early December cutting through her coat, chilling her to the bone. With Christmas time rapidly approaching, the entire castle was buzzing with excitement over the Yule Ball. With the first two tasks completed, and the third being far off, everyone was giddy with excitement over the ball.

"Rose!" She turned around, spotting her cousin Dominique Weasley rushing towards her, her pale skin flushed pink with the cold. Dominique was the kind of girl that everyone in the school seemed to aspire to be. Beautiful, intelligent, strong, courageous ,brave, captin of the Quidditch team, Rose couldn't think of one person she knew who didn't like her cousin, so it hadn't come to anyones surprise when she had been selected as the Hogwarts champion for the tournament. She had faired quite well in the first two tasks, effortlessly taming the Sphinx to retrieve her clue and had no issues with the Grindylows in the Black Lake as her mother had when she had competed in the tournament years ago. At the moment only seven points separated her from Damien Krum or Durmstrang, son of Viktor Krum, and Aubrey Cassing of Beauxbatons trailed Krum by only two points. Rose lifted her hand and gave her cousin a slight wave. "I 'ave been looking all over ze place for you!" Her cousin had picked up Aunt Fleur's French accent, though it was less pronounced then her mothers. Rose sighed as her strawberry blonde cousin rushed towards her. As much as she loved her family, sometimes she needed some time alone.

"Oh? What for?" Rose asked, almost hesitantly.

"'ave you gotten your robes for ze ball yet?" Rose wasn't sure she like where this was going.

"Dom, it's the first day of December, there is almost a month before that thing. You can't honestly tell me that I should already have everything that I need, that would be crazy." She should have known better then to argue with Dominique about anything fashion related, the only person worse was Lily.

"My beautiful little cousin, there is just so much zat you need to do, and you cannot get ze shoes or accessories without first 'aving ze dress." Moments later, Rose found herself being dragged into a dress shop in the heart of the village. Her cousin promptly began piling robe after robe into Rose's protesting hands.

"Aren't you going to try some on?" Rose asked as she skeptically eyed the ever growing pile of gowns in her arms.

"Don't be silly. I 'ave 'ad mine for veeks." Dominique laughed at Rose's expression, sweeping her strawberry blonde locks over her shoulder she turned back to the rack, handing Rose another five dresses before announcing that she had to go and try them on. Rose found her self being dragged unwillingly by her cousin for the second time that day.

"Oh! C'est magnifique!" Dominique exclaimed, hopping up and down, lightly clapping her hands together as Rose modeled what seemed like the thousandth dress she'd tried on that day. "It iz simplely perfect! Zat boy vill not know vat hit 'im" She must have looked confused, because Dominique continued, "ze little blonde von who you've been friendly vith all 'ear? Are you not going to ze ball together?" Oh _that_boy.

"I doubt it, we're just friends." Though the prospect was rather surprisingly appealing to the Ravenclaw. Not that she'd every admit it unless under the effects of veritaserum, but the thought had entered her mind more then once, but she knew that it was never going to happen. They were after all, just friends and other girls had been noticing him all year, surely he had his pick of a date for the ball, why would he every go with plain old bookworm Rose Weasley, who up until a few months ago he thought hated him. Since the beginning of the term the two of them had become fast friends, almost inseparable, they were always together. Many people in the school still gave them weird looks whenever they saw the two together, but over time they had faded and people had started to see Scorpius as an actual person and not Draco Malfoy's son. He was not his father, and she was glad that people were starting to see that, though most of her cousins were still skeptical, James and Fred were by far the worst though.

"Oh, vat a shame. I'm sure zat you vill find yourself a 'ansome boy to escort you." Actually, someone had already asked her, but she had yet to give him an answer. Afterall, it was still early and she wanted to hold onto the childish fantasy of perhaps going with the boy who had become her best friend over the past three months for just a little longer.

"So, vat do you think?" Dominique asked. "Of ze dress?" Right, the dress. Rose looked at her reflection in the floor length mirror in front of her . It was a very simple dress in a deep shade of purple. The bodice was fitted with thick straps that crossed in the back with a shiny silver ring holding the two straps crossed in the back. The skirt flowed away from her body at the hips. Her part Veela cousin had been right, it was perfect.

"It's perfect."

* * *

Hours later, Rose stumbled into the Ravenclaw common room, her arms laden with numerous bags. After purchasing her dress for the ball, Dominique had proceeded to drag her into every shoe, accessory and makeup store until Rose had, to quote her cousin, 'everything she needed for the ball'. She dropped her bags carelessly in front of the couch in the common room before slumping down onto the couch itself.

"What the hell happened to you?" She looked up and met the smirking face of her best friend.

"Dominique." Scorpius bit back a laugh. "I had the unfortunate pleasure of running into my part Veela cousin in Hogsmeade today since someone," she looked at him pointedly, "hadn't finished his potions essay. Apparently she decided to make it her personal mission to ensure that I had everything I could possibly need and more for the ball." Rose couldn't help but laugh at the expression the blonde wore on his face, it was a sort of cross between amused and shocked.

"Isn't that thing like a month away?"

"Try telling that to Dominique. I suppose it could have been worse. It could have been Lily." Rose shuddered at the thought "Twenty-three and a 'alf days Rosie. You must take zese things seriously my little cousin. Zere is just so much zat must be done!" This time Scorpius couldn't help but laugh as Rose impersonated her cousin.

"I'm assuming you found everything?"

"Wow, no wonder your in Ravenclaw." She told him sarcastically. "Your ability to point out the obvious is absolutely amazing."

"You wound me Rosie." He put his hand over his heart and threw his head back dramatically. She bit back a laugh and mock glared at him for the use of the nickname she had never liked, though when it came from him, she found she didn't mind it as much.

"So, what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"You're pretty dress silly" He took his quill, tapping her lightly with it on the very tip of her nose. She smiled coyly.

"Wouldn't you like to know. But that's for me to know and you to wonder about." She stood up gathering her bags.

"Oh Rosie, I'm hurt."

"I'm sure you'll survive. Curiosity is a healthy thing... well unless you a cat." He gave her a weird look. "It's a muggle saying, curiosity killed that cat?" He still looked confused. "Oh never mind." She gave him one last smile before turning around and heading towards her dormitory leaving him to work on his essay.

Scorpius watched the petite red head leave the room, noting how cute she looked all bundled up in an attempt to keep the cold out, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold. He sighed, potions essay abandoned on the table in front of him. He'd recently determined that he had had a bit of a crush on his now best friend for the better part of the past three years. He had decided that afternoon that he was going to ask her to accompany him to the ball at breakfast the next morning. Even if they would just be going as friends, he knew that they would have a wonderful time. He smiled slightly to himself once again before returning to his essay.

* * *

Rose walked into the Great Hall at 9:30 the next morning and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. She glanced around at the sparsely populated room seeing if she could locate her favourite platinum blonde, but apparently he wasn't up yet. Her attention was brought back to her table as a large envelope plopped down in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she hadn't even heard Lily come up behind her.

"What was that Lil?" Lily blushed a deep breath and muttered something that sounded like never mind before joining the rest of the Potter-Weasley clan at the Gryffindor table. Rose just shrugged and turned back to her letter. The moment she tore it open, she clued into her cousins weird behaviour. Lily had the biggest mouth on the face of the planet.

"ROSE NATALIA WEASLEY!" Her fathers voice boomed, echoing through the Great Hall, making her glad that it was a Sunday morning and there weren't too many people at breakfast. "I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT BLOODY MALFOY PRAT. I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS KIND OF DEFIANCE YOUNG LADY" yup everyone was definitely staring at her now, she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "THAT ENTIRE FAMILY IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BETRAY YOUR OWN FAMILY AND BECOME FRIENDS WITH THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING WAS OF SKIN. YOU CAN PUT THEM IN DIFFERENT COLOURS BUT A MALFOY IS STILL A MALFOY AND NO DAUGHTER OF MINE IS GOING TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SORT. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR! IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD OF YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH THAT LITTLE FARRET THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY YOUNG LADY. DO YOU HEAR ME ROSE? YOU STAY AWAY FROM THAT BOY HE'S NOTHING BUT TROUBLE." the letter burst into flames after the message finished, and Rose could feel the tears burning behind her eyes.

She stood up and ran towards the doors and thanked Merlin that Scorpius hadn't been there for that. She kept running until she smacked right into something, or rather someone. She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting grey ones. Shit. What are the chances that he didn't hear that? Judging by the look on his face? None what so ever. His normally sparkling grey eyes were as cold and emotionless as steel, his lips drawn in a tight line. He pushed her off of his chest and turned and walked in the opposite direction. Her lower lip began to quiver and she willed herself not to cry. She looked at her feet, trying to compose herself, but when she saw the crushed orange tiger lily that sat at her feet, she couldn't contain her tears any longer. She ran into the nearest empty class room and slumped against the wall and cried until she had no tears left. She didn't understand how her father could be so cruel to a boy that he didn't even know. Scorpius was not like his father at all, once you got past the arrogant act that he put on for the rest of the world, he was the sweetest person she had ever met in her life and her pig headed father was too thick to see it. She made the decision then and there sitting on the cold dusty floor of the empty classroom, she was not going to let her fathers arrogance keep her from the best friend she had ever had. Now she just needed to find a way to make sure that Scorpius knew that before their friendship was beyond repair. She let out a shaky breath. There were days where she really hated her father.


	8. Short Fuses and Hypocritical Gits

**Chapter 8- Short Fuses and Hypocritical Gits**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own!

**AN: Hello all! Sorry I haven't updated in a bit my cousin got married this weekend so I haven't exactly had a whole lot of time for writing as of recently. This chapter was originally going to be combined with the next one but it would have been way too long and this seemed like a nice place for a break. Please read a review!**

The Great Hall buzzed with excitement at breakfast on the morning of December 24th. Everyone was so excited for the ball that night, the hall was full of discussions about everything from hair styles, to robes, to who was going with whom to music and decorations. The ball was the only thing on anyones mind, unless you were Rose Weasley. For the past three weeks ever since 'the incident' she had been absolutely miserable. Her best friend had been avoiding her and when she did manage to find him he was cold and almost spiteful in the way that he was treating her. She had tried numerous times to talk to him about what her father had done, but he wouldn't hear it. It wasn't her fault that her father had a short temper and the tendency to over react over just about everything. To be honest, Rose really couldn't have cared less what her fathers opinion of her friendship with Scorpius was. This was her life, she was fourteen for Merlin's sake, she could be friends with whom ever she chooses and her father had no say in the matter.

She sat alone at the Ravenclaw table, her roommates deciding that leaving her alone today would probably be the best thing for her, pushing her food around on her plate. Lately Rose had found that she hadn't had much of an appetite nor had she been sleeping particularly well and she knew that most of her friends had begun to notice a change in her behaviour over the past three weeks. She hadn't really know what to do with herself, this year it seemed that most of her time had been spent with Scorpius, and now that he wasn't talking to her, she really didn't know what to do with herself. She had done the only thing that she really knew how to do, she attempted to make things right between her and her best friend, and when that failed, she buried herself in her studies, hoping that her books would take away the pain of losing the best friend she had ever had.

She let out a loud sigh, she really had no desire to go to the ball tonight, but it would be rude to bail on her date at the last second. She had made him a promise and she intended to keep it. The only reason she had said yes to him was because her roommate and friend Charlotte had announced to her about a week after the incident that Scorpius had asked her to the ball. Charlotte was a tall girl with straight black hair and piercing blue eyes, she was also one of Rose's closest female friends, outside of her cousins. Charlotte had been surprised that Scorpius had asked her and not Rose to the ball, so she had told her that she already had a date before finally giving the poor boy an answer to the invitation that he had extended two weeks prior.

She had made a promise to herself that she was going to have a good time at the ball and not let her falling out with Scorpius stop her from having a good time, even if she wouldn't be spending the evening with her best friend. She wasn't going to let it ruin her night, she would put on her beautiful purple dress and have the time of her life. With that though Rose pushed her plate away from her and stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.

All of the sudden she hit something solid. Looking up, her hazel eyes met steel grey ones. "Watch where you're going Weasley." Just like that her entire mood just deflated. Every time that he called her by her surname, her heart broke a little bit more.

"Scorp," she began softly, "We really need to talk." He just scoffed at her, and pushed her off of him, much as he had on that day three weeks ago when they had found themselves in the same position after she opened her fathers letter, and began to walk in the direction of the Ravenclaw table. That was it, she couldn't take this anymore, she could feel her blood boiling. "SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY!" He froze as she yelled his full name. She stalked towards him, her face red with anger, her hands balled in fists. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?" She was absolutely fuming, she had her mothers temper mixed with her fathers sort fuze, not even James was stupid enough to piss her off. Tease her? Sure. Make fun of her? Absolutely. Annoy her half to death? Of course. But piss her off? Never. A pissed off Rose Weasley was a very scary thing and was best avoided. "YOU CALL YOURSELF MY BEST FRIEND AND YET YOU WON'T EVEN TALK TO ME? YOU HAVE ALWAYS TOLD ME HOW MUCH YOU HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE JUDGE YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR FATHER AND YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU ARE THE BIGGEST BLOODY Hyppocrite IN THE ENTIRE BLOODY WORLD MALFOY,"he visibly winced when she called him by his last name, "YOU ARE DOING THE SAME GODFORSAKEN THING TO ME THAT YOU HATE PEOPLE DOING TO YOU. YOU'VE PROVED THAT YOUR NOT YOUR FATHER MALFOY AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M NOT MINE EITHER! JUST BECAUSE HE SAYS SOMETHING TO ME DOESN'T MEAN THAT I AM GOING TO LISTEN TO IT. I DON'T GIVE A RATS ASS WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN OUR FATHERS WHEN THEY WERE IN SCHOOL, IF THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER THEN FINE, THEY DON'T HAVE TO. I GET TO CHOOSE MY FRIENDS MALFOY, NOT MY FATHER! MY FATHER DOESN'T DICTATE MY LIFE, AND I AM NOT ABOUT TO LET MY SO CALLED BEST FRIEND GO JUST BECAUSE MY FATHER IS A HOT HEADED PRAT SOMETIMES!" She walked around to face him, her chest heaving as she calmed a bit. "You're my best friend Scorp, but you know what? You sure as hell haven't much been acting like it?" She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unleashed tears. She raised her voice slightly once again, though she wasn't yelling. "Do I honestly mean that little to you that all it takes is one stupid letter from my overbearing, overreacting father to completely destroy our friendship? I honestly thought that you were better then that, but I guess I don't know you as well as I thought that I did, because the Scorpius Malfoy that I have come to know, would talk to me, not ignore my every attempt to apologize. There is only so much that I'm willing to do Scorp, I can't hold together this friendship of ours without your help. If you aren't willing to at least hear me out then as much as it breaks my heart to say it, I'm done Scorp. I'm done trying to say I'm sorry my father can be such a prat, I'm sorry that you had to hear all the terrible things that he said. I don't share his views on the matter and you bloody well know that Scorp." She spun around on her heel and stormed out of the now silent Great Hall and ran to her dorm.

She was shaking like a leaf, and tears burnt behind her eyelids. She sat on the edge of her bed and put her head in her hands. That hadn't gone exactly how she had planned. She had never planned on yelling at him about how much of a prat he was being in front of the entire Great Hall, but he just made her so angry. Cursing her fathers short temper and her mothers ability to let anger build she let out an aggravated sigh and flopped backwards onto her bed. She couldn't believe that she had actually done that to him, no matter how angry she was she hadn't planned on embarrassing him like that in front of three schools worth of students and professors. Well, at least she hadn't punched him... again though he bloody well deserved it for being such a hypocritical git. She sighed again, oh well what's done is done, now it was up to him.


	9. Jealousy and Reasoning

**Chapter 9- Jealousy and Reasoning**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own.

**AN: Hello everyone. Finally got this chapter up, I've had it written for a bit, just had to find the time to actually type it up. I've been up to my eyeballs in readings for all my classes. Got to love University sometimes. Anyways I hope that you guys like this, I'm a bit on the fence about parts of it. Let me know what you think!**

Rose woke with a start at the sound of a knock on her door. She looked over at the Muggle digital clock that her Grandpa Granger had given her for her tenth birthday and was shocked to discover that it was almost four in the afternoon. The lack of sleep must have finally caught up to her. There was another knock, more urgent then the first. "Rose! Open this door immediately!" She did as the voice had ordered.

"Dominique? How the hell did your get in here?"

"Zat iz not important mon petite chère."

"Seriously, Dom why are you here?" It was only then did she take in her cousins appearance. Dominique's normally straight strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her back in perfect ringlets, her curls pulled back out of her eyes with two crystal barrettes, one on each side of her head. Her wide blue eyes were enhanced with soft pink and gold eye shadow, and her lips were pained with a pretty pink gloss and she had a garment bag draped over her arm, a pair of silver heeled sandals in her other. Oh, right.

"Vell, I figured after zat little perfomance you put on in ze Great 'all zis morning, zat I should come and make sure zat you make it to ze ball. Besides, eef vat I 'ear is right, you couldn't possibly be thinking about standing up your date. Eet would be 'orrible if you did." Rose blushed. "You cannot stand up Da-"

"How did you find out?" she hadn't told a soul who she was going to the ball with. She knew that if James and Fred got their hands on that piece of information that they would tear the mickey out of her, and she had wanted to, as any sane person would, avoid that.

"I 'ave my ways." She winked at her younger cousin. "Now, go and get into ze shower and zen I vill make you gorgeous. Vell, more gorgeous. Zose nails need work." Rose just stood there as her cousin thrust her towel into her arms and shoved her towards the bathroom.

Scorpius scanned the beautifully decorated Great Hall for the hundredth time in the past fifteen minutes searching for a sign that Rose was there. After what had occurred at breakfast that morning, he felt like a complete git. Sure he was mad at her, that had probably been one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to him in all of his fourteen years, but she did have a point. He had done to her exactly what he despised people doing to him. He made an assumption about her based on what her father had said and he had payed for it, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be upset with her for yelling at him in front of three schools worth of students and professors. He sighed looking around once again for a sign of her deep red hair, but she was no where to be seen.

"Malfoy?"

"Huh?" He turned around, to meet the amused face of his date. He gave her an apologetic look and she laughed softly, shaking her head.

"Looking for someone?" She already knew the answer to that question, Rose, after all, was her roommate and Scorpius was her best friend, though lately you wouldn't have been able to tell.

Scorpius never got a chance to answer her because the headmistress walked up onto the stage and announced the arrival of the champions and their dates. The music started up again and the large wooden doors swung open. Aubrey from Beaubatton and her date, a tall scrawny wizard were the first to enter, followed by Dominique Weasley and her boyfriend and fellow head Carlos Minkleton from Hufflepuff. Damien Krum was the last of the champions to enter. He strutted into the Great Hall with almost too much confidence, the witch on his arm was one of the most beautiful that he had ever seen in his life. She looked so small next to the large Quidditch player, her deep coloured robes complimented her creamy skin and her hair was pulled into an elegant pile of curls on the top of her head, little rhinestones woven through out.

"I don't know why he picked **her**. He could have gone with anyone, she so plain." He heard a girl say to her friend. He glanced back at Krum and his date, that girl was the farthest thing from plain he had ever seen. Now that the couple was closer to him, he got a better look at the enchanting beauty that had come with Krum and his jaw dropped. It couldn't be. Was that **Rose**? He looked again.

"It's Rose." He voiced his realization aloud. He felt anger corse through his veins. She went with **him**? Out of all the guys in the castle, she went with that Bulgarian blockhead that in spite of being a professional Quidditch player as his father had before him, probably couldn't tell a Quaffle from a Bludger, and she, **his** Rose went with him?

"Malfoy, you okay?" Asked Charlotte. He honestly couldn't remember why he had asked her in the first place, she was a nice enough girl, but she wasn't his best friend.

"I'm perfect." He continued glaring in the direction of the dace floor as the champions prepared to dance. He watched Rose and Krum glide effortlessly across the dance floor as if they were the only two people in the world. He was smiling at her and she was smiling back. If looks could kill, Krum would have been dead, jealousy was coursing through his veins and he had to use all of his will power to keep himself from going over and pulling the two of them apart. Just because he was mad at her didn't mean that he had to like watching her dace with **him**. Then again, if he hadn't been avoiding her for the better part of a month then maybe it would have been him that was making her smile.

"She looks beautiful tonight." Charlotte said.

"Yeah." He sighed. He hadn't meant for it to come out so breathlessly. He was supposed to be mad at her, but he was finding that he was having a hard time with that. He looked at Charlotte and she had an unreadable expression on her face.

"What exactly is going on with you two? You two had been inseparable since the beginning of the year and now you avoid her like the plague and she ends up yelling at you in the middle of the Great Hall. What the hell happened? She's been miserable, and you've been snide with everyone. I have to say that I was shocked when you asked me to the ball. I thought that you and Rose would go together for sure."

"It's nothing." He said unconvincingly.

"Oh come off it Malfoy, we both know that it's not nothing. You have been avoiding everyone since you stopped talking to Rose and when you do interact with people you haven't been the most pleasant, and Rose? No one sees her outside of class. I live with her for Merlin's sake and I barely see her, she's been absolutely miserable and she won't tell me why but I know it has to do with the reason that you two aren't taking, so spit it out Malfoy." He sighed.

"I'm guessing you didn't hear about the howler then?" Charlotte shook her head. "Three weeks ago, Rose's father found out that we were friends. To say that Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy didn't get along would be the biggest understatement in the history of mankind. Anyways, he sent her a very unpleasant howler that pretty much told her that she couldn't be friends with me anymore or there'd be hell to pay. Anyways, I kind of over reacted, assumed that she'd listen to her father and started avoiding her. I'm not worth ruining her family's opinion of her. Besides, I'm mad at her."

Charlotte laughed softly. "Who are you trying to convince? Me or you? You can be so thick sometimes Malfoy. You should have known that she wouldn't let her father's opinion on the matter change the fact that your her best friend. You need to go talk to her." He began to protest. "Ah, ah, ah. I don't care if your 'mad at her' or not, you two need to talk about this, for both of your sakes."

"But I AM mad at her."

"Again, who are you trying to convince? You need to talk to her tonight promise?" He sighed, and nodded reluctantly, he knew when he was beat. "Good, now let's dance."


	10. Interesting Encounters

**Chapter 10- Interesting Encounters **

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own.

**AN: I know, I know, I know I haven't updated in a while, sorry. Apparently, long readings have been the trend for the past week or however long it has been since I have updated. Anyways, it is a longer chapter. At least my geography class is good for something. Anyways I hope you all enjoy this. Please read and review **

Scorpius sat at one of the small circular tables at the perimeter of the dance floor. He knew that Charlotte was right, he really needed to talk to Rose, but in all honesty he really was not in the mood. The little performance this morning had been rather embarrassing, though he did have to admit he had sort of brought it on himself. If he hadn't avoided her for the past three weeks, and if he hadn't been so snide with her this morning and had just heard her out, then he probably could have avoided being embarrassed in front of the entire very crowded Great Hall.

He drummed his hands on the table in front of him. Charlotte had gone off with some of her friends, which he honestly hadn't minded, he knew that he wasn't very good company right now. Whenever he and Rose fought, he was not pleasant to be around, she kept him grounded. He just wanted to be alone, away from all these people. He pushed his chair back away from the table and sighed, he really needed some fresh air.

"He wandered through the empty halls of the castle, noticing just how eerie they were when they were completely silent, heading towards the astronomy tower.

"I said leave me alone!" He heard a hysteric female voice shout.

"But you er so beautiful" a heavily accented voice replied. Then silence.

"I said get off of me!" He heard a grunt followed by the soft clicking of heels. "Come near me again and I swear you'll regret it." The girl warned.

Scorpius picked up the pace, heading towards the voices, that did not sound good. As he got nearer he continued to hear them arguing and then as he was seconds away from the corner, he heard the sound of what he inferred was the girl's hand coming into contact with the boys face. The sound was sickening. When he finally rounded the corner he froze, the sickening feeling in his stomach growing even more. There in front of him stood Rose, tears in her eyes, her beautiful red curls ascew, face red with emotion, standing across from an angry looking Damien Krum, who was holding his right cheek. In that moment, as he took in her disheveled appearance, any anger that he had felt towards Rose completely melted away. She looked so small and naive in that moment, he wanted nothing more then to take her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that she was safe. Krum opened his mouth, as if his was going to say something.

"Get lost asshole." Scorpius made his presence known, before walking over to where Rose stood and taking her shaking form into his arms. "Are you deaf?" he sneered at Krum. "I said get lost."

"Vhy should I. She iz here vith me." Krum told him. Scorpius let go of Rose and stalked over to the older boy.

"Well she told you to leave her alone. So get lost."

"I vill do no such ting. She came vith me, she vill leave vith me." He noticed that the Bulgarian was getting agitated.

"Listen to be you stupid, arrogant, buffoon. She said leave her alone, and that is exactly what you are going to do. You are going to turn your ass around and go back into the ball and you will have no further interaction with her. She has made it clear that she has no desire to be near you, and I suggest that you respect her wishes." Scorpius was fuming, his normally pale skin was flushed pink, his fists were clenched into tight balls and his grey eyes were narrowed into tight slits.

"And vat are you going to do if I don't. You look like twig." That was it. Scorpius drew his wand from the pocket of his robes.

"If you don't do what I say, I will hex you so bad it will take them a month to straighten you out." He pointed the tip of his wand to the large Bulgarian's neck. "Take one more step towards her, I dare you."

Krum hesitated for a moment before mumbling something under his breath and storming away from the two of them. Scorpius replaced his wand in his pocket and turned back to where Rose stood. He walked back over to where she was, and once again wrapped his arms around her.

"You don't look like a twig." She mumbled against his chest, he laughed lightly. The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, Rose crying silent tears into his chest and he stroked her back and whispered words of comfort into her ear. When her body finally stopped trembling, he pulled back from her slightly so he could see her face, which was streaked with tears. "You okay Rosie?" He asked, lifting his hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She shook her head and he pulled her back against once again, continuing to stroke her hair and comfort her. He wasn't sure how long the two of them stood there before her tears subsided once again. "Do you want to talk about it?" She could feel the vibration of his voice against her face.

"He... he..." Scorpius could feel her small form begin to shake slightly, and her voice crack.

"Shh... It's alright." He hugged her tighter. They were silent for another few moments before she broke the silence. Her voice was thick with tears.

"Scorp, why are you being so... so nice? I... I've been hor-_hic_-ible to you, and _hic_ yet your still _hic_ here. I... _hic_ don't deserve this. _hic_." She turned to leave, taking a deep breath, willing the hiccups to stop, and he grabbed her arm stopping her. She turned back around, sniffing, looking at him questioningly.

"Rosie, somethings are more important. I shouldn't have ignored you after that letter. It's not your fault that your father lost his temper, I know that. It wasn't fair of me to ignore you and be rude to you and assume that you would listen to your father. If I had just heard you out then you wouldn't have been in this situation with that Bulgarian oaf."

"Scorp, It's not-"

"Please Rosie let me finish." She nodded. "That day, when you got the howler, I was going to ask you to the ball. When I heard what he said about me, what he said about you... I over reacted. I shouldn't have reacted like that, I'm so sorry Rosie."

"You have nothing to appologise for Scorp." She looked up at him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know how you feel about your family, and I know, I know that your different then them, and my father shouldn't have done that. When you started ignoring me Scorp, it hurt. A lot. I've spent three years trying to make you see that I won't judge you, that I want to be your friend and since the beginning of this year... well your my best friend Scorp, and I wasn't about to let my father take that away from me. Unfortunately, I have my father's short fuze. But Scorp, you need to know, that I am not about to lose you. Not because my father hates that..."

"I'm a Malfoy." He quietly finished her sentence, dropping his gaze from hers.

"Hey," he looked at her once again, "only in name." His eyes burned into hers for what seemed like eternity. "Were you really going to ask me to the ball." She whispered. He nodded sheepishly, breaking their eye contact. "I wish you had."

His head snapped back up so fast that she was surprised that his neck didn't snap and she couldn't help but laugh at the baffled expression on his face. For the first time that night, she found that she was actually, truly enjoying herself and she wished that it never had to end. "You're my best friend Scorp, don't be so surprised, we would have had the best night."

"The night isn't over yet." He smiled at her and grabbed her hand. "Come on." She smiled back at him as he lead her up to the top of the Astronomy tower.

Even after having spent the last three and a half years at Hogwarts, she was still taken aback by how beautiful the grounds were in the winter. It was a cold night being December, that wasn't surprising, she shivered, very aware of her bare shoulders. Seconds later, she was enveloped in warmth as Scorpius draped his jacket over her shoulder.

"I'm fine." He said, anticipating what she was going to ask him. She looked over at him, only then noticing how close he was to her. In fact, if he just turned towards her, she could just lean up slightly and their lips would- woah, hang on a second, where did that come from?

"Krum's a prat." she said, gazing once again at the snow covered grounds.

"Rosie," he said quietly, she could feel his eyes on her as he took his hand and turned her jaw towards him. Reflexively she swatted his hand away as she felt panic begin to build inside of her. She knew that Scorpius wouldn't do anything the way Krum had, but just the memory made her begin to tremble slightly. He placed the hand that had been on her jaw on top of hers instead. "Rosie, what happened?" She dropped her gaze to their hands, his larger one covering hers. "Rosie, talk to me." She glanced up at him and saw the pleading look in his eyes. That look was her downfall and the entire story just spilt out, she couldn't stop it.

She told him about how after breakfast that morning she had felt so terrible that she had locked herself in her room and had only gone to the ball because she had made a commitment to Krum and she would have felt awful standing him up. She told him that even though she had been in a bad mood, and having no desire to actually attending the ball, she had enjoyed herself. She told him how they had decided to go for a walk because she needed air. She told him how Krum had been, calling her beautiful, and complimenting her every chance he got. She then told him how the Bulgarian had forcibly shoved her against a wall and stuck his tongue down her throat. She could see the tension in him as she told him how no matter how many times she tried to push him away and told him to stop. He hugged her tightly as she told him about how despite her obvious resistance he wouldn't stop. She told him how she had finally escaped by elbowing him in the stomach and how she had slapped him when he tried to do it again. She told him how relieved she had been when she saw him come around the corner and stood up for her, despite the fact that she had been terrible to him earlier that day.

As Rose told him everything that happened he felt sick. He had to use every ounce of self control that he posessed to not go and hunt down that Bulgarian bastard and hex him to oblivion, as he should have done earlier, for hurting _his_ Rose.

"I'm okay now Scorp." She told him, hugging him tighter, letting him know that she was alright. "You made him go away, I'm safe."

"He had no right Rose. No right at all. You shouldn't have had to go through that, it's not right. I'm sorry, that never should have happened. Oh Rosie, this is all my fault. If I hadn't-" She put a finger on his pale lips, effectively silencing him. He looked at her, dry tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Don't, even for a second, even think about blaming yourself for this. It's _not_ your fault, there's nothing you could have done. You stood up for me, you made him go away, made him leave me alone even though you had every right to hate me after how I treated you this morning. You're a good person Scorpius, and don't you ever forget it. What did I do to deserve a friend like you?" The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence. Rose turned her attention back to the grounds, and Scorpius took the opportunity to study his best friend. The Bulgarian oaf had one thing right, Rose was beautiful, a fact that he was very painfully aware of, even though he was only fourteen. He noticed her shiver, despite his coat that was draped over her shoulders. He took her hand once more and lead her back into the castle. Once back inside, she handed him his jacket, silently thanking him with a sweet smile, which he returned whole heartedly. Scorpius held his jacket over his other shoulder and with their hands still joined, the pair headed back to Ravenclaw tower.

"Rosie," he broke the silence. They stopped walking and she turned to face them, releasing his hand. She met his eyes, their faces only a breath apart.

"Yes?" She said quietly.

"You really need to stop making a habit out of punching blokes." His tone was teasing and playful. "First me, then that Slytherin prat, now Krum," he ticked each one off on his fingers. "Wouldn't want to give people the wrong sort of impression of you." He poked her on the tip of the nose, she laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder before he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders as they continued back to the common room.

"Oh shut up Malfoy."


	11. Happy Christmas?

**Chapter 11- Happy Christmas?**

**Disclaimer:** Do not own.

**AN: Hey everyone. I have been planning to post this chapter for the past few days, finally found the time to finish typing it up. Apparently I've gravitated more towards the longer chapters. Always fun, I should actually be making study notes right now but I have no motivation, so what is a girl to do? Write fanfiction of course! Anyways please read and review, I find the more reviews I get, the more guilty I feel about not updating quickly :D**

Rose sat across from Scorpius in the compartment on the Hogwarts Express as it chugged down the track towards Kings Cross Station the next morning. She was excited to see her family, she loved family Christmases. Every year her entire family would go to the Burrow for Christmas Day and she was so excited to see everyone, especially her grandparents. Grandma Weasley still knit everyone sweaters that nobody actually liked but wore anyways and her Grandma and Grandpa Granger were still fascinated as ever by the wizarding world that their daughter had introduced them to almost three decades previous, bringing them these little muggle trinkets that Rose had always found wonderful. Rose enjoyed the chaotic nature of the burrow at this time of year, her mother, aunts and grandmothers clamoring about in the kitchen making dinner while the kids had Quidditch tournaments and tried to beat Ron at chess. She loved every moment that she got to spend with her massive family. This year was going to be especially fun because Dominique was participating in the Tri-Wizard tournament.

Rose glanced up, noticing Scorpius studying her intently. "What?"

"Uh, nothing," he glanced down, embarrassed that she had caught him staring. "What are you thinking about?" he ran his hair through his slightly shaggy blonde locks.

"I'm just excited about Christmas with my family. Every year my entire family goes to the burrow for Christmas. We play chess, and Quidditch and get to spend time together. It's amazing!" He saw how her eye lit up when she spoke of her family, making him wish that he had a family like hers. "Aren't you excited to spend Christmas with your family?"

"Not really. It's just me and my parents. My father works constantly and my mother, well I'm not entirely sure what she does but she always seems busy. Sometimes we sit by the fire and talk, my mom and me that is. She's nice, you'd like her."

"What about your Dad?"

"Nobody likes my dad." He stated simply. "Anyways, I mostly spend time in the kitchen with the house elves. I've picked up a thing or two from them. My father despises that I interact with the 'help'. He always starts muttering something about how your mother should have just left well enough alone, or something like that. The whole 'House Elf Rights' thing still pisses him off. But that's father for you."

"You're Dad can't honestly be that bad, after all, your his son and your the nicest person that I know." Rose laughed as he dramatically clasped his hands over his heart.

"Oh Rosie, my life is now truly complete. How did I ever survive before!" Their laughter filled the compartment.

"Uh... Rose?" She hadn't even heard Hugo come in.

"Yes?" She said, trying to stop her laughter, and succeeding, barely. Hugo gave her a strange look, glancing back and forth between his sister and Scorpius looking very nervous. "Come on Hugh, spit it out"

"Uh, it's just we're almost at Kings Cross and Uh..."

"And what? There is no and. I'll see you on the platform." She dismissed him and the ginger haired boy looked at her wide eyed.

"But Dad..."

"Dad can get over himself. Scorp is my best friend and if dad has a problem with it then that's his issue not mine." Hugo looked at her skeptically before turning around and leaving the pair alone.

"Thanks." Scorpius said, smiling.

"For what?" She smiled sweetly at him, and he returned it.

"Now tell me more about the Weasley family Christmases."

Ten minutes later the train screeched to a halt at Kings Cross. Scorpius and Rose leisurely climbed off the train and collected their belongings before quickly scanning the crowd looking for their families. They spotted the Weasley-Potter group quite easily, as the mass amounts of red hair were kind of hard to miss. Rose started headed in the direction of the group but stopped when she realized Scorpius was no longer following her.

"Scorp, why are you just standing there? Come on." She walked back towards him, a confused expression gracing her features.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to go over there, you know your dad and all..." He looked at his shoes, and spoke quietly. Rose laughed softly.

"This is what I love about you Scorp, you always think of others before yourself. It'll be fine, my dad will get over it... eventually." Before he could protest farther, he found himself being dragged through the crowded platform towards the Weasley-Potter clan.

"Rose!" Her mother was the first to spot her, rushing over and enveloping her only daughter in a warm hug, which Rose happily returned. When she pulled back, Hermione turned her gaze to the blonde boy standing next to her daughter, looking absolutely terrified.

"Mom, this is Scorpius Malfoy. My best friend. Scorp, this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Weasley." Scorpius said politely sticking out his hand, which Hermione accepted, laughing.

"Oh please, Mrs. Weasley is my mother-in-law, please, it's Hermione and I would like to say that it is wonderful to finally meet you Scorpius. Rose talks about you in all her letters." Both of the fourteen year olds blushed softly and Hermione smiled, Ron was just going to love this. "Come on you two, the rest of the family's waiting."

Scorpius gulped. The rest of the family? Hermione seemed nice, but he had a funny feeling the rest of the family wouldn't be as welcoming as she had been. "I should probably go and find my parents they-"

"Oh nonsense!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can wait with us until you see your parents, I'm sure everyone will be pleased to meet you." For the second time in the span of five minutes, Scorpius found himself being dragged towards the mass of red heads on the platform. Scorpius smiled to himself, Rose was so much like her mother, he now knew where she got her kind, determined persona from. He also noted that aside from hair colour, Rose was practically her mother's clone.

"What the bloody hell is _he_ doing here! I thought that I specifically told you to _stay away from the bloody prat_ Rosie!" Scorpius gulped, he knew this was a bad idea. He looked up meeting the eyes of one very angry Ron Weasley.

"Ronald, be nice." His wife warned.

"But he's-"

"Ronald! You don't even know him, so calm down." Ron scowled and Scorpius couldn't help but smile at Hermione's action. Yup, Rose was definitely her mother's daughter, well with the exception of the fiery temper and the knack for cursing.

"Ron Weasley" Ron mumbled reluctantly.

"It's nice to meet you sir." Scorpius squeaked nervously. "I'm Scorpius. Your daughter speaks very highly of you. She respects you and your family very much, sir."

"She has a funny way of showing it." Ron mumbled to himself, earning him a justified smack up the back of the head from his wife. "Owwww, Hermione!" He wined like a child causing Hermione to laugh. Ron smiled at his wife, she was still beautiful all these years later and he leaned over giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Mom, Dad! We're in public!" Rose said, horrified at her parents display of affection. Scorpius laughed.

"Oh come on Rosie," he tapped the tip of her nose playfully with his index finger. "It could be worse." She looked at him skeptically. "They could be full out snogging." Rose's expression twisted into one of utter disgust and Scorpius couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Scorp that is so _not_ funny!" She exclaimed, punching him playfully.

"Yeah, it is! The look on your face was priceless." He said, still laughing.

"Your incorrigible!"

"But you love me anyways." He teased.

"WHAT!" He forgot that he had an audience.

"Um, well see sir, uh-" He stumbled with his words.

"Dad! Calm down, he's my best friend!" Ron looked at his daughter skeptically. "Seriously." She turned to her best friend. "Thanks for the back up by the way Scorp."

"No problem." He winked at her as she shook her head.

Ron stared at his daughter and the Malfoy boy unblinking, studying their interactions. They were relaxed and teasing each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As much as he hated to admit it, the kid didn't seem all that terrible, you know for a Malfoy. It was clear that the blonde cared about his daughter, but why did it have to be Draco Malfoy's kid?

The foursome was joined by the rest of the clan. Rose made the introductions between her family and best friend and was pleased that they had been warm and welcoming, well most of them. Percy was polite, but clearly didn't like the idea of his niece and a Malfoy being friendly. The rest of the family however had been very kind.

"So, how was the ball?" Hermione asked.

"It vas fantastique!" Dominique exclaimed happily. "It vas so beautiful. I vas a bit nervous about 'aving to dance in front of everyone vith all ze other champions. But it vasn't so bad, especially since Rose 'ad to do eet too." All eyes landed on Rose, causing her to flush deep red.

"You went with one of the champions? How old was he? Who was he?" Her father demanded.

Rose opened her mouth to tell her father it was no big deal when Lily piped up. "Damien Krum." If looks could kill, Lily Potter would be nothing but a pile of ask on the platform. Ron's blood boiled.

"You to the ball with Viktor-Bloody-Krum's son!" Rose, swallowed backing up a bit as she nodded. Scorpius rested a comforting hand on her back.

"Ron, calm down. You're over reacting." Ginny told her older brother.

"I will not bloody calm down! First my wife, now my daughter! That oaf is ruining my life!" He turned to his daughter, who looked absolutely terrified. At least it appeared that he had forgotten that he didn't like Scorpius. "Rose why the hell would you go to the ball with a ruddy arse like him?"

"Ronald! You shouldn't judge the boy, he could be perfectly-"

"Wonderful like his bloody father, Hermione."

"Viktor was kind a charming!"

"He was way too old!"

"Oh please!" Rose snapped, drawing the attention of others on the platform. "It's not my fault that you don't like who I went to the ball with! If you hadn't sent me that bloody howler then I wouldn't have gone with him! I would have gone with Scorpius and actually had a good time. But instead, because you couldn't get over your petty little whatever the hell it is between you and Scorp's father, I wound up going with that stupid prat! I had the worst night of my life until Scorp save me from the buffoon. And you know what? It's all your bloody fault!" Scorpius rubbed circles on the small of her back in an attempt to calm her.

"You watch your mouth young lady!" Ron told his daughter.

"A Howler Ronald? You have no business meddling in your daughters life like that." Ron opened his mouth to protest, but a glare from Hermione made him re-think that. "And Rose, I know what your father did was inappropriate and I'm sorry you didn't enjoy yourself, but you have no right to speak to your father like that."

"He ruined everything!" Rose exclaimed hysterically. "If you knew what happened then you would be saying the exact same thing!" Tears were burning behind her eyes, and Scorpius, sensing her distress pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Well, well." A voice sneered. "Nice to see somethings don't change. You always did have a knack for making Granger girls cry, Weasley."

"Malfoy." Ron said coldly.

Rose pulled out of her best friends embrace. Dabbing the corners of her eyes to rid them of moisture, she stuck out her hand and shakily greeted the Slytherin in front of her. "I'm Rose Weasley. It's nice to meet you."

Draco studied the wide eyed girl before taking her hand and shaking her extended hand.

"Draco Malfoy. Though I'm sure you've heard enough stories to know who I am." Rose sniffed and cocked her head to the side, studying the tall, sharp featured man.

"Not really. I know you and my parents didn't get along at school and I know the part your family played in the war." She looked at Scorpius. "I try to make it a point to not judge people before I meet them." She turned back to Draco. "It's not fair, people can change. I prefer to make my own conclusions."

Draco was taken aback at the maturity of the fourteen year old red-heads statement, and couldn't help but notice the smile that his son gave the Weasley girl.

"We shouldn't keep your mother waiting any longer son." Draco addressed his son in a cool manner.

Scorpius gave Rose a quick hug. "See you in a couple of weeks."

"I'll owl you later." She said, returning the hug.

"Weasley, Granger, Potter, Weasley." Draco curtly nodded to Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny as his son bid goodbye to the rest of the Weasley-Potter clan.

"What exactly happened at the ball?" Scorpius heard Ron ask his daughter as he followed his father. He had a funny feeling that this was not going to be the Christmas that Rose had been looking forward to.


	12. Timing is Everything

Chapter 12- Timing is Everything

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own

**AN: Hello everyone! I hope you're all enjoying my story so far. I'm on a bit of a roll today with this one. Apparently it's breeding day for those plot bunnies, which is good for me I suppose. Anyways, they will be back at Hogwarts for the next chapter, and I think there will only be another two chapters about their fourth year… I don't know maybe three. We'll see. Fifth year means OWLS which should be interesting anyways. Please Read and Review!**

Rose couldn't wait until she could return to Hogwarts. Her family was driving her absolutely mad. They did nothing but pester her about the ball since she got home. Everyone was curious to know exactly what had transpired between her and Krum, especially her father, whom she'd learned had been overly jealous of Damien's father. She had spent most of her break locked in her room avoiding everyone, but having finished all of her essays two days prior, Rose was bored.

She heard a tap on her window, that pulled her out of the book she was currently reading on mysterious creatures of the dark forest that she had discovered in the Hogwarts Library the week before leaving for Christmas. The tapping came again and she stood up, letting the deep brown owl into her bed room, retrieving the envelope from it's beak. She smiled. She had no clue what she would do without Scorpius. He was the sweetest boy she had ever met. She admired his courage and loyalty so much, the way that he had stood up for her, despite his anger towards her made her wonder why he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. The pair had been writing each other every day of their break, Rose venting about how her family wouldn't leave her alone and him telling her how boring and lonely it was in his house, with only his parents for company.

She had told him in her last letter how she had finally told her parents about what had happened that night at the ball, leaving out a few of the more unpleasant details of the events that had transpired that night. It was safe to say that her father had flipped, vowing to hunt down the boy and kill him with his bare hands. She had tried to lighten the mood of the letter by telling him that at least her father couldn't hate him anymore, seeing as he had defended her that night.

She had discovered a few things the night that she had told her parents about the ball. Her mother had attended the Yule Ball with Vikor Krum, Damien's father, when her parents had been in their fourth year. Apparently her father had overreacted then too. Her mother said he was jealous, her father outright denied it. She loved hearing stories about her parents time at Hogwarts, all their adventures sounded so exciting.

She turned over the letter in her hands, opening the seal on the back of the envelope opening it. She began to read.

Dear Rosie,

How's everything going? Your family let up now that they know what happened? I really hope that they do so then maybe one of us will have a chance of enjoying the rest of the break.

I can completely understand how your father feels Rosie, I really can. There is nothing that I wanted to do more then rip the prat limb from limb when I found the two of you that night. He had no right Rosie, no right at all, and as many times as you tell me that it was not my fault, I still can't help but hold my self partially accountable for you having to attend the ball with the insufferable blockhead because I didn't give you the chance to make your own choice about your father's letter. For that I will forever sorry for, I never wanted to see you hurt.

I can't believe that you have already finished all of your essays. Your family must really be driving you mad. You were so excited about being home with your family playing Quidditch and Chess this break and I am sorry that it didn't go as you planned, but there's still time. Now I have one last thing to say to you Rosie, so listen carefully. Put down what ever Godforsaken book you have your pretty little head buried in and go have some fun with that massive red-haired family of yours. I know what your going to say 'but reading is fun' I know Rosie, but not even you can survive on reading alone, I know you. You're bored and just itching to climb onto that broom and beat your cousins ten times over in a game of Quidditch, so go.

See you soon,

Scorp

Rose laughed softly to herself as she reread her best friends letter. She grabbed some parchment and scribbled out a reply, sending the deep brown owl on its way as her mother's voice rang out.

"Rose! We're going to be late."

"I'm coming!" She walked over to her mirror, checking her deep red curls and soft makeup. She grabbed her silver heels off of the chair beside her dressing table and smoothed the wrinkles out of her deep emerald green dress. She dashed down the stairs and her mother handed her a white cloak. Her father looked at her, scowling.

"Couldn't you have picked something in a different colour Rose." Her father was still in a fowl mood about Krum, about Scorpius, about everything. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. And people always said her mother was the stubborn one.

"Don't listen to him Rosie, he's just upset that he has to wear a suit. You look beautiful." She smiled at her mother, who was adding a black cloak to her own soft blue robes. The small family was headed off to the annual ministry New Years party, an event which Rose usually enjoyed. Her younger brother staggered down the stairs looking very uncomfortable.

"I look like an idiot." He wined. Hugo hated dressing up even more then her father did.

"You look quite smart Hugo, now come on or we're going to be late." Ron and Hermione each took the arm of one of their children, and with two sharp cracks, the small family apparated away.

Rose sat at a table in the corner of the ball room with Lily, Hugo, James and Albus. The party was in full swing, but she was not enjoying herself. She longed to be back at school, where she could escape the constant questions that her cousins kept asking. She had only told her parents about what had happened the night of the ball, so her cousins of course were still curious. She loved her family, but there were times where she envied Scorpius for having such a small one. She needed to get away for a while and quickly excused herself, walking out into the hallway, sitting down on a wooden bench, enjoying the peace of being alone. The large grandfather clock across from her indicated the time to be eleven thirty, only another half an hour left before the new year.

Rose sighed, leaning back and resting her head against the wall behind her, closing her eyes. She wished everyone would just drop it. She was tired of the constant questions about what was going on between her and her best friend and what had happened the night of the ball. She was sick of it. Scorpius had told her once that he envied her large family, having only two cousins himself. The boy seriously didn't know how good he had it. Don't get her wrong, she loved her family to bits, but there were times where they were just too much to handle.

"Now, why would a pretty little thing like you be sitting here all alone when there are only ten minutes left until midnight? The party's in there you know." Normally a comment like that would have sent her into a fit, but she would have recognized that voice anywhere. Her eyes popped open and she stood up flinging herself into the arms of her best friend.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, a large smile plastered on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He laughed, and the pair sat down on the bench once again. "Your not the only one who's parents work for the ministry. We don't usually go, but mother talked father into it. I didn't know I was coming or I would have informed you." He poked the end of her nose playfully, an action that he seemed to be quite fond of, making her laugh softly. "You look very nice tonight Rosie."

She looked at her hands, clasped in her lap, cursing the blush she knew was rising up her cheeks. "Thanks." She told him quietly, looking up into his deep steel coloured eyes. "My dad hates it." He looked at her confused. "The dress? Apparently the colour is too Slytherin for him." Scorpius raised an eyebrow, causing her to laugh once again.

"Don't listen to him Rosie, you look beautiful." He said those words as if they were the most natural thing in the world, and she found herself blushing once again. She hated that he had that effect of her.

"You don't look half bad yourself. Though that tie is absolutely ridiculous. Where did you get that ghastly thing." She teased, and he feigned hurt.

"I was told that they were all the craze among the muggles." He told her, holding up the awful bright blue tie with snowmen covering the surface. The pair burst into laughter once again. He slung his arm over her shoulders, and she placed her head softly on to his shoulder. He smiled at her softly. "You never answered my question. What are you doing out here all alone? Shouldn't you be enjoying the party with the rest of your family?"

"My family is the reason I'm sitting out here. I just needed to get away from them for a little while. They're driving me mad Scorp, they just won't let it go. The questions about Krum, the ball..." She looked up at him, smiling shyly she whispered the next word. "You."

"Me?" He whispered. She nodded, lifting her head up so she could look directly into his grey orbs as the people inside the ball room began the ten second count down.

"Ten!" She studied his features, his hair and complexion came from his father, but his features were softer, more friendly.

"Nine!" She took in it all, the steely colour of his eyes that she could just lose herself in, the contour of his jaw and his messy blonde hair.

"Eight!" He smiles at her, a wide genuine smile that she wishes she saw more often.

"Seven!" She returns his smile, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, not breaking their eye contact.

"Six! His eyes dart down to her lips, full, pink and inviting. He wonders what she would taste like.

"Five!" He meets her eyes again with such intensity that it is if he can read into her soul.

"Four!" Her small pink tongue darts out, moistening her dry lips unconsciously.

"Three!" His eye continue to burn into hers, letting every emotion that he is feeling be known.

"Two!" He lifts his hand to her jaw, stroking it softly, letting the other come to rest on her bare shoulder.

"One!" Her hands move from her lap, coming to rest on his chest, muscled and strong from Quidditch and the pair begin to lean toward each other.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Sounds of cheering and celebration ring out from the ballroom.

"Happy New Year Rosie." He says, his tone a soft whisper, she could feel his warm breath caressing his face.

"Happy New Year Scorp." They continue leaning towards each other, their eyes slipping shut as their lips are only millimeters apart.

"Rose?" The sound of Hugo's voice caused the pair to shoot apart faster then anyone could say Quidditch. Her brother gave the pair an odd look, clearly not realizing what he had just interrupted. Damn Hugo and his horrible sense of timing. "Uh, everyone is wondering where you got off to."

"I'll be there in a second." With a final look at the pair her brother headed back into the room. She gave her friend an apologetic look as she turned following her brother off to where her family was waiting.

**AN: Don't hurt me. I just couldn't resist Hugo inheriting his fathers terrible sense of timing and complete obliviousness to the fact that he actually has a terrible sense of timing. I know the whole New Years count down thing is kind of cliché but whatever. Please Review :D **


	13. Awkwardness and Practice

**Chapter 13- Awkwardness & Practice**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own

**AN: Hey everyone! Thanks for everyone who has stuck with me so far. This weekend has been a really good weekend for plot bunnies. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review, I really like know what my readers think of the story! Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians out there! Read and Review!**

Rose strode into the Great Hall at nine in the morning on Sunday morning. They had just arrived back the previous night and Rose couldn't wait to see her best friend. Ever since the New Years party, all she could think about was her almost kiss with Scorpius. She had never hated her little brother more then she had in that moment. For the last week of break, all she could think about was what would have happened had Hugo not interrupted them. She had been aware of the little crush that she had had on a certain blonde haired, Ravenclaw Chaser ever since her father first pointed him out on the platform, but now she found it hard to deny that the innocent childhood crush she had once harbored had developed into something a whole lot more. She had been short with her brother for the remainder of the break, and Hugo having inherited her fathers terrible timing and the obliviousness that came along with it, had no idea why. She could still feel Scorpius's breath teasing her lips as he lent toward her. She could smell his cologne and feel his hand stroking her jaw, she felt a shiver shoot up her spine at the thought. She shook her head. She was only fourteen, she shouldn't be feeling things like this. She took a shaky breath as she approached the Ravenclaw table, noticing the unmistakable messy blonde hair of her best friend.

She slid onto the bench beside him, deciding to play it cool she smiled "Morning Scorp." She said happily.

"Uh, hi Rose." His tone was awkward, he ran his hand through his already messy hair, and kept his eyes firmly glued to the plate of eggs in front of him. "How was the rest of your holiday?" Rose got a bit of a sinking feeling in her stomach, he obviously was regretting what had almost occurred between the pair on New Years.

"Oh it was marvelous!" She exclaimed excitedly, trying to ignore the pain of her slowly breaking heart. "We had a bit of a family Quidditch tournament. We had Dominique, Jared, Molly, James, Fred, Albus and Hugo, so the Gryffindor Quidditch team, against me, Roxie, Lily, Louis, Lucy, Teddy and Victorie. The winning team got to play against Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie and my dad."

Scorpius chuckled. "I take it you won." He stated, still not making eye contact with her.

"Both times." She said proudly. He could picture the look of happiness on her face, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"I can't believe there are enough people in your family to make up three entire Quidditch teams."

"If you include Teddy of course. He and Victorie are to be married next summer, now Teddy will truly be a member of the family." She gushed excitedly, he still wouldn't look at her. "Scorp, what's wrong?"

He heard her tone change, it was softer. "Nothing." He responded unconvincingly.

"Don't try and pull that one on me Scorp, you won't look at me. Your my best friend, I know when something's bothering you." Her voice was so full of concern.

"Just leave it alone Rose." He warned a little to harshly.

He could feel her eyes on him. "Scorp, you can tell me anything, you can trust me."

"I said leave it alone!" He snapped, before standing up and storming out of the Great Hall, immediately feeling guilty for snapping at Rose. He knew that she meant well, but there was no way he could talk to her about this.

He was upset. Rose was acting as if nothing had happened. She had bounded up to him and started chatting with him as though nothing had changed. Everything had changed though, at least for him. He was having a hard time coming to terms with the intensity of these feelings that he was experiencing for his best friend. He'd always had a soft spot for her, ever since that first day on the train, so naturally he teased her mercilessly, fought with her and did everything in his power to get under her skin that first year and then essentially ignored her for the next to, just as any young boy would do. Since the beginning of the year however he'd actually gotten to know Rose, who she was and what she was like. Now he found himself with a huge problem. He was in love with his best friend and it scared him. You weren't supposed to fall in love at fourteen.

He thought back to the night of the New Years party and he could have sworn that she was feeling something too. He thought that she had wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. Apparently he had been sorely mistaken. Maybe she had just gotten caught up in the moment. Why would a girl like her ever want a bloke like him? It wasn't as if he was unattractive, but Rose, well Rose was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Her long silky deep red curls cascading down her back, her hazel eyes sparking with knowledge and wisdom way beyond her fourteen years, she was athletic and absolutely brilliant, she was every guy's dream. He was awkwardly tall, towering above all his classmates, and lanky. He'd always hated his too pale complexion and his father's steely grey eyes that he felt looked cold. His hair had a mind of its own, and couldn't be tamed if his life depended on it. He laughed bitterly. Rose could have anyone she wanted, he was her best friend, and he'd just have to make peace with the fact that that was all they'd ever be. He sighed loudly, he needed to talk to Rose, he had no doubt that she was very confused after the way he had acted this morning.

He looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. It was 9:45 and he was late for Quidditch practice, Jebediah was going to kill him. He raced to the locker room and quickly donned his Quidditch robes before heading out to the pitch to join the rest of the team.

"Malfoy. You're late." The captain snapped

"Sorry." He said, genuinely.

The practice was typical and overall quite uneventful. Jebediah kept going on and on about how they were not going to let Gryffindor take their title from them. Ravenclaw had grown accustomed to holding the title of Hogwarts Quidditch champions for the past three years and they were not about to let go of that. Rose was the best Chaser that Hogwarts had ever seen. After all, she had been the first first year to make the team since her Uncle Harry almost three decades previous.

Scorpius turned his attention to the petite red head as she sped towards the hoops. She effortlessly dodged the Bludgers as she swung to the right sharply before launching the Quaffle and watching it soar through the center hoop, passing right over the keepers head. Scorpius felt kind of bad for the guy, Rose never failed to put Quaffles past him. He smiled as he watched her, she was so at ease up on the pitch. She was a natural on a broom, it had been clear ever since their first flying lesson in first year that she was made for flying.

"Malfoy!" Darren Charles, the other Chaser on the team pulled him out of his thoughts. "Practice is over. What's going on with you?"

"Uh, nothing..." He glanced over at Rose again. She was flying laps around the pitch as she did after every practice, it was a sort of post game ritual of hers. Darren followed the blonde boys gaze and laughed.

"Nothing huh? I'd say that's something there Malfoy. You've been half distracted all practice. You need to pull yourself together, Jebediah is not about to let anything get in the way of winning the Quidditch Cup. Catch my drift."

"Yeah... It's just... It's fine, I'm fine... don't worry about it, it won't get in the way." Darren shook his head at his younger teammates obvious infatuation with their female teammate. He had known that Scorpius had always had a bit of a crush on the red head, but there was something that had changed this year. The two had become friends and judging by the look that was currently plastered on the blondes face, his feelings for Rose had gone way past an innocent childhood crush. Darren laughed once again and clapped the fourth year on the back.

"Man, you've got it bad."

"I...uh...no...uh..." Darren smiled.

"Good luck kid." The fifth year descended to the ground and followed the rest of the guys back to the locker room. He looked at Rose once again who had just finished her last lap and had also began to descend to the ground and Scorpius did the same.

"Hey Rose! Wait up." He jogged to catch up to her. "I'm sorry about this morning. I'm fine really, you don't need to worry." They fell into step with one another and he smiled at her. "It's just that..."

She stopped abruptly and he halted beside her. "So what's her name?" She teased. His eyes went as wide a saucers.

"What?" Rose felt her heart plummet. Oh, so there was a girl. She swallowed hard and plastered a smile on her face.

"Oh come on Scorp, I'm not daft. Your distracted behaviour, your unwillingness to make eye contact. It's the only thing that makes sense. So who is she?" There was a reason she was at the top of their class, nothing got past her. Well almost nothing, if she ever found out that the girl was her, she's hex him into the next century.

Rose could feel her heart slowly breaking. A few days ago they had almost kissed and now? Now apparently he was head over heels for some girl. Scorpius was staring at his feet. "You know I'll figure it out eventually." She told him, trying to keep her tone light and playful, she hoped he couldn't tell that she was struggling to do so.

The pair lapsed into an awkward silence as they headed into the now empty locker room. Rose pulled her bag out of her locker, tossing her gloves inside and removing a change of clothes and setting them on the bench in front of her and a big fluffy towel. She stashed her outer robe in her locker along with her shoes, replacing them with a pair of pink flip flops. "Just give me ten minutes." He nodded as she disappeared around the corner and seconds later he heard the shower running.

He began to remove his own Quidditch gear as he waited for Rose to finish her shower. Rose had always hung back for a little while after practice, being the only girl she preferred to wait until her male teammates had vacated the locker room before she went in. This year however, he had started hanging back with her, and she didn't seem to mind now that they were friends, she had really began to actually enjoy the company. This had become a sort of after practice ritual for them. She would shower and he would wait, then she would dress while he showered and then they'd walk back up to the castle together.

Exactly ten minutes later Rose emerged from the showers wrapped in her fluffy blue towel, her long hair wet from the shower. "Your turn." She said, her eyes locked on his bare chest. He smiled as she looked away blushing and headed into the showers.

Rose dressed quickly sitting down on the wooden bench, packing her bag and drying her hair with her wand. She was really curious about who this girl was that had Scorpius acting so, well weird. She sighed, she knew that he would never reveal that to her, unless under the effects of veritaserum. She tried to push that particular thought out of her mind, along with the feelings of jealousy that came with it. She heard the shower stop and two minutes later Scorpius emerged from the back room, a pair of jeans slung low on his hips. She swallowed hard as he made his way over to the bench where he had left his t-shirt. Pulling his shirt over his head and donning his cloak, he asked her what she planned to do for the remainder of the day. Rose shrugged causing him to laugh. It was so typical of Rose to have finished all her essays over the break. He on the other hand still had another six inches to add to his Charms essay and then another twelve inches on his Potions one.

The pair headed up to the castle laughing and teasing as they worked through the initial awkwardness that had hung between them all day. Later, as the pair sat in the common room, Scorpius working on his Potions essay and Rose relaxing in a chair, a massive book in her lap, both made them self the same promise. They were going to move on, which proved to me something a lot easier said then done.


	14. Revelations and Wrong Conclusions

**Chapter 14- Revelations & Wrong Conclusions**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own anything, well except Charlotte she is of my creation.

**AN: Hey everyone. It's been a very very very long day. Writing is relaxing soooooo you get another chapter, and it's a long one. Definitely the longest one I have written so far. The next chapter, in theory, is the last one about fourth year. Anyways thanks to all my reader and reviewers (can we add some more names to this list pretty please with a cherry on top). I enjoyed writing this chapter, I don't know why, but that's probably why it's so bloody long. Charlotte makes another appearance, I just love her she's so much fun. I should be typing up my biological anthropology lab at the moment, but I'm too stressed out to focus right now, I blame technology but that's a story in itself. Anyways in a portion of the take home section of the lab there are these two short articles that totally mase my life when I read the titles ****Harry Potter and the recessive allele**** (**.) **and** **Harry Potter and the prisoner of presumption** (.**) They're pretty amusing, at least I thought they were. Look them up. Anyways, please read and review! (My story i mean, not the articles) 3**

The next several weeks proved to be fairly uneventful. The final task of the tournament was only a week away , but Rose found herself to have more pressing issues on her mind. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and she needed to find the perfect present for her best friend, who's birthday just so happened to be only three days away. Luckily, said best friend would not be accompanying her on the trip to the village this weekend because he had elected not to listen to her and had to finish his essays for Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic for Monday, neither of which he had done much work on. She had been nagging him mercilessly all week to get them done, and for once, she was glad that he didn't listen to her.

She trudged along the thawing ground through the crowded village on the cold March morning. She had already been into about a dozen or so stores and nothing had seemed perfect. She'd purchased some sweets from Honeydukes from him and a trick or two from her uncle's joke shop but she needed to find something amazing. She walked towards The Three Broomsticks, she was already late to meet her cousins for butterbeer, when something in the window of a little shop caught her eye. She grinned wickedly and dashed inside, it was perfect. She quickly made her purchase before joining her cousins at The Three Broomsticks.

As she sat at the table listening to her cousins talk about the final task, Rose couldn't help but let her mind drift off. It was really bothering her that she didn't know who this girl was that seemingly had captured the heart of her blonde haired best friend. For weeks she had been trying to determine who this girl was, but she hadn't had any luck. Other then herself and Charlotte, Scorpius didn't really spend too much time with other was Mackenzie Hall, the Hufflepuff that he had been tutoring in Potions lately, but he always looked way too relieved when their sessions were over for it to be her. Maybe it was Charlotte, the two of them had gone to the Yule Ball together and seemingly had a wonderful time. Rose felt a surge of jealousy coarse through her veins. She loved Charlotte like a sister, but it should have been her who had gone with Scorp, not her closest female friend, but her dad had taken care of that one alright.

Wait a tick. Scorpius had asked _her_ dormmate and closest female friend to the ball right after _her _father had sent the howler, he could have asked anyone, and it's not like the two been particularly close before the ball, it couldn't be a coincidence. Come to think of it, his behaviour as of late had been rather odd, but only around her and he had been unwilling to tell her about the girl that he fancied, wouldn't even tell her what house she was in. He was always distracted during class, practice and when they were studying, though it was subtle enough that most people wouldn't have even noticed and he always gave her these looks that she couldn't quite read whenever he saw her with other guys. To top it off, she could have sworn that recently she had caught him staring at her, quite often. It all made sense!

Rose stood abruptly, startling her cousins out of their conversation. She quickly excused herself and rushed back to the castle as fast as her legs could carry her.

She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before, she had been so focused on trying to figure out who the object of her affections was seemingly enamored with that she hadn't even considered the possibility that the girl in question was _her_. She raced up the steps to Ravenclaw tower two at a time, effortlessly solving the riddle, she entered the common room, but Scorpius was nowhere to be seen. She checked the fourth year boys dorm, but no luck. That left her with only one option, the library. She rushed out of the common room and all but ran to the library. She made her way quickly along the bookshelves to the table in the back corner by the window, knowing that she would find him there.

Rounding the last shelf before the table, Rose froze as she took in the sight in front of her. Violet Brown-Finnigan had herself glued to her best friends lips. Rose quickly spun around as the pair broke their kiss. She heard Scorpius call after her, but she just kept running, how could she have been so horribly wrong?

Scorpius sat in the library at his usual table cursing himself for not having finished his essays earlier like Rose had been nagging him to d all week. Rose. He smiled at the thought of her, this table seemed way too big with out all her stuff spread out over the surface. He should have listened to her when she told him to finish his essays instead of going to play exploding snap with Darren and Charlotte, but he hadn't, so now instead of accompanying her to Hogsmeade today, he was stuck alone in the library writing about bloody House Elves.

He looked down at the scraps of parchment in front of him. At least Defense Against the Dark Arts had been interesting, it had taken him no time at all to finish that one, but History of Magic was just incredibly boring. He needed to write two rolls of parchment about House Elf oppression and their journey to liberation, and no offense to Rose's mom, but it was one of the most boring thing he had ever done in his life. He really wished that Rose was there, since her mother had been the one to spear head the liberation movement.

His quill scratched against the parchment and Scorpius let out a dejected sigh. He turned the page in the book that Rose had so graciously lent him he continued to write. There was a reason that they were forced to take this class. No one in their right mind, well except maybe Rose and well probably him just because he had this compulsive need to try and beat her at everything though he had yet to be successful, would ever willingly take that class. Nobody really knew how long Professor Binns had been teaching that class, he was a ghost after all, but it was at least long enough for everyone of his living relatives to remember the torture of sitting in that classroom listening to him drone on and on and on just waiting for it to be over. More scratching. This was going to take bloody forever. More flipping of pages, some more scratching. He couldn't handle it anymore, he tossed his quill down on the table and ran his hands through his hair in frustration letting out and aggravated sigh.

"Looks like somebody's having trouble focusing." A high pitched voice said, Scorpius suppressed a groan, as if he didn't have enough to worry about. Violet Brown-Finnigan was possibly the most annoying person he had ever met.

"Not now Violet. I have a lot of work to do."

"Do you want some help?" She whispered into his ear, causing him to jump in surprise. She laughed, her incredibly high pitched irritating laugh that he was sure probably sent dogs running in the opposite direction. He took back everything he had just thought. He would gladly sit in History of Magic for the rest of his life then hear _that_ noise again. Okay so maybe he was being a bit over dramatic, but that girl was bloody annoying. Where was Rose when you need her? Violet can't stand her.

"No, I'm fine. Please just leave me alone." She plopped down in the chair beside him. Clearly listening wasn't one of her strengths. There was no way he was going to get this done now.

"And leave you here all by your lonesome, Scorpy?" She walked two of her fingers up his arm, batting her eyelashes at him it what he suspected was intended to be a flirtatious manner, personally he thought it looked like she was trying not to faint. He hated being called Scorpy. "Why would you want that, aren't you lonely with out your little girlfriend here to keep you company."

"She's not my girlfriend." Though thanks for pointing that painfully glaring fact to me. It's never going to happen if you don't do something about it. Great now he was fighting with himself.

"Really? Oh, I just assumed, you two are always together." Genius this one was.

"Well you assumed wrong." Scorpius could have sworn he caught a glimpse of red hair through the bookshelves. Wishful thinking perhaps? He turned back to Violet, and all of the sudden her lips were on his. After recovering from the initial shock, he pushed her off of him. "What the bloody hell is your problem?" He whispered angrily so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"I just thought..." Tears were welling up in her eyes. Oh brother talk about a drama queen. He looked up, and saw Rose's unmistakable red hair rushing away from him. Now what were the chances that she didn't see the kiss? Judging from how fast she was running, pretty damn slim. This day just kept on getting better and better. He called out to her but she didn't stop. He quickly swept all of his books and papers into his bag and turned to the girl beside him pointing a warning finger at her.

"Stay the hell away from me, and from her." He scolded her before taking off to attempt to find Rose.

He dashed out into the corridor looking for any sign of where the red-head had gone. He knew that she wouldn't go back to the common room and the Astronomy tower was out, she knew that was the first place he'd look. He checked bother places anyways. It was too cold for her to be down by the lake, plus the thawing ground was cold and wet, not exactly an ideal place to sit. Again, he checked anyways. He spent over an hour searching every place in the castle that he could think of but he had no luck. She was probably up in Gryffindor tower with her cousins, or in the Heads Dorm with Dominique. He sighed dejectedly as he sunk into one of the armchairs by the fire and waited. She had to come back at some point.

Rose sat on the side of her bed. Violet-bloody-Finnigan? What on earth did that boy see in her? The girl wasn't a complete idiot or anything, but she was ditzy and obsessive about make-up and boys and Rose couldn't stand it. She laughed to herself. No wonder Scorpius had been acting so odd around her lately, he was infatuated with the one girl in the entire school that Rose couldn't stand. She even liked the Slytherin girls better, at least they weren't ditzes. It all seemed to make sense, she let out a frustrated sigh.

"Trouble in paradise?" Charlotte walked into the room and removed her cloak, scarf and shoes. Rose flopped backwards on her bed and threw her hands over her face and Charlotte laughed.

"What was your first clue?" Came Rose's muffled voice from behind her hands. Charlotte was the only person she had mentioned her developing feelings for Scorpius to.

Charlotte laughed again. "Well, if your current behaviour wasn't any indication, then the fact that a certain blonde that shall remain nameless," Rose cracked a smile. "Is sitting in the common room looking like a kicked puppy. So are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to enlist the help of your cousins to nick some veritaserum?"

"Violet-bloody-Finnigan that's what."

"No story that begins with that can have a happy ending." Rose laughed bitterly, sitting up slightly. "So..." The raven haired girl gestured for her friend to continue. Rose flopped back down on her bed. " I had a sort of revelation this afternoon when I was at The Three Broom Sticks with my cousins." Charlotte came and sat down beside Rose on her bed, encouraging her to continue. "Well he's been acting really odd around me lately, ever since we got back from break. It's been really awkward and everything. Well, you know that I found out that he like someone. It's been driving me nuts that I can't figure out who it is. Every time I even look as though I'm about to bring it up, he quickly changes the subject and he's been distracted during Quidditch, and class and when we're studying together, I mean he hides it well, but I can tell.

"Okay, so what's this amazing revelation that has your wand in a knot."

"Well, I concluded that it obviously has something to do with this girl that he's enamored with.

"Wow, no wonder you're in Ravenclaw. Your powers of deduction are simply amazing." Charlotte said sarcastically, Rose couldn't help the smile that appeared on her lips.

"Very funny..."

"I thought so."

"Anyways, that's when I had the revelation." Rose continued.

"Which was..."

"The odd behaviour, the distraction, it only happens around me."

"Well of course you'd only notice it when you're with him." Charlotte reasoned.

"I've seen him around other people when I'm not with him, and no one else, yourself included, have noticed him acting weird." Rose defended.

"I see your point."

"Plus, I'm the only girl on the Quidditch team. Anyways, that combined with the unwillingness to discuss this girl, he seriously wouldn't even tell me what house she was in before changing the subject, and the fact that he almost kissed me-"

"Wait, WHAT?" Charlotte interrupted. "He almost KISSED you? When did this happen and why is this the first you're telling me about it?"

"At the ministry New Years Party."

"That was over two months ago!" Rose raised a sarcastic eyebrow.

"I didn't mention it, because it didn't seem important. It's not like we actually kissed. We have Hugo to thank for that one."

"Not important? You didn't think to mention to your best female friend that the boy you're in love with almost kissed you and would have succeeded if your brother didn't have the worst timing ever?"

"I'm not in love with him." Charlotte half smirked half laughed.

"Uh-huh, sure your not. You weren't stopping him, he wasn't stopping you, if your ruddy little brother hadn't interrupted the two of you we'd be having a completely different conversation right now." Rose let out a frustrated groan. "Please, please tell me that your little revelation was that he is as in love with you and you are with him?"

"We've been over this Charlotte, I'm not in love with him. I may have feelings for him that go beyond friendship, but I'm not in love with him." Rose lied.

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?" Charlotte gave Rose a pointed look, she knew when she was beat. "So, was it?"

"Maybe..."

"Then why the bloody hell are you sitting up here talking to be instead of snogging his bloody brains out? He looks like a lost child!"

"Well, if you'll let me finish my story. After abruptly leaving my cousins in Hogsmeade to share this revelation with him, I walked in to find him superglued to the lips of Violet-bloody-Finnigan. Apparently, I reached the wrong conclusion."

"Then why would he have tried to kiss you?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know, it was New Years. Spirit of the celebration perhaps?" Charlotte clearly wasn't buying it.

"And why is he moping around in the common room instead of off snogging the dolt then?" Rose shrugged, not having an answer. "Please tell me your not going to torture the poor bloke. You are going to go talk to him?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm going." Charlotte laughed to herself at the behaviour of the pair as Rose left the room.

Rose descended down the girls staircase to the common room where she discovered Scorpius sitting in an arm chair with his head in his hands. She silently approached him.

"Hi." She said quietly. His head snapped up lightning fast.

"I looked for you everywhere." He exclaimed and she smiled softly.

"I was in my room. Where's Violet?" She failed in her attempt to not say the girls name bitterly.

"Why would I know?" She gave him a look.

"You could have said something you know Scorp. I mean I may dislike that girl, a lot, but you're my best friend, I'll learn to deal with it. If your happy, then I'll get over it." He looked at her with an extremely confused expression on his face.

"What the hell are you on about?"

"Your new girlfriend." She stated simply.

"My WHAT? I am so not dating Violet, that girl is insufferable." Rose actually laughed out loud at her friends outburst.

"Could have fooled me. You two looked pretty friendly in the library this afternoon." The little colour he had drained from his exceptionally pale face.

"I was working on my essay, she offered to help. Which I declined." He was defensive.

"Didn't look like declining to me. I can't imagine what snogging has to do with House Elf Liberation. My mother wrote the damn book on it."

"Snogging?" She shot him daggers, he was currently in the process of digging himself a rather large hole. "Uh, well..." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he got defensive again. "She came over while I was working and started talking to me. I told her to leave me alone, but lets face it the girl does not have good listening skills. Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me. I pushed her away after I got over the initial shock and then I saw you running away from me. I called after you, but you didn't stop."

"I didn't want to interrupt." She crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"I swear Rosie, I told her to stay away from the both of us and ran after you."

"You don't need to justify yourself to me Scorp, it's not like we're dating." Her voice was rising slightly, and a few of their housemates gave a wary glance in their direction. "You can snog anyone you bloody well please, it's none of my business."

_I wish it would be__._ Scorpius thought to himself. He was pretty sure that he had successfully managed to destroy any chance of that ever happening in his life time. If he had been braver, he would have told her that she was the only person he bloody well wanted to snog, but instead he smiled at her sheepishly. "I know, I just want you to understand that I don't like Violet. She's absolutely mental, and not in a good way. He took a chance, tapping her playfully on the nose. Rose cracked a smile and he knew he was forgiven. "We okay?" He asked hopefully, looking into her hazel eyes.

"Yeah Scorp, we're just fine."

**AN: Violet, though her birth name is Violet Brown-Finnigan, most people just use Finnigan because it's not as long. I know I use both in the chapter.**


	15. Happy Birthday Scorp

**Chapter 15- Happy Birthday Scorp**

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own anything.

**AN: OMG I know I haven't updated in forever! Blame it on midterms 4 in 6 days... it was brutal I haven't had time to write which makes me sad. I'll try to update more often but finals are drawing near and it's term paper season. The good news is come December 18th I have 2 weeks of complete freedom which is when I plan to finish this lovely story during if it isn't done before then (which judging by my exam schedule it won't be). Anyways I hope you like this chapter, it's mainly just fluff that lasted a lot longer then it was supposed to... this was supposed to be the final task chapter... anywho enjoy! Please, please review!**

"Happy Birthday!" Rose bounded up beside her best friend who was eating his breakfast at the Ravenclaw table.

"Thanks Rosie." He smiled softly at her, and she beamed back, sliding onto the bench beside him and kissing his cheek quickly with out really thinking about it. She turned away from him to serve herself some eggs, missing the bright red blush that would have done the Weasley's proud, creep its way up her best friends cheeks.

"Do you want it now or later?"

"Huh?" His head whipped around to face her, causing her to laugh. He loved that sound.

"Your present Malfoy." She nudged his arm playfully and he cracked a smile. "Do you want it now or later?"

"Rosie, you didn't have to get me anything." She smiled at him sweetly.

"You're my best friend Scorp, I wanted to."

"Thanks, later it is Rosie." The pair finished their breakfast before heading back to the tower to gather their things for their lessons.

Scorpius scowled as he and Rose settled in for their last lesson of the day, double History of Magic. Whoever had scheduled that one had a very sick sense of humour. This class was terrible enough as is, having it two lessons straight could qualify as toucher, at least in his book. He'd rather sit in he manner listening to his grandfather spew nonsense about blood status then listen to professor Binns drone on about the Goblin Wars or whatever it was they were learning about today. Okay, that may be a little extreme, but still this class was horrible.

Ten minutes into Professor Binns lecture on House Elf Liberation or something of the sort, Scorpius had completely zoned out along with 99.9% of the class. He glanced at Rose who was seated one desk over from him, she was of course the only student in the class paying attention. He had no idea how she did it. There was one good thing about this class however, since Rose infallibly was the only student who ever actually payed attention in this class, it gave him an opportunity to study Rose. He loved how she chewed on her lip when she was nervous, confused or concentrating on something and the way she absentmindedly played with her quill when she wasn't writing. He loved the intensity and wisdom that was always present in her soft hazel eyes. Wait, her eyes? He shouldn't be able to see her eyes. A piece of parchment had appeared in front of him on his desk.

_'Do I have something on my face?'_ She'd seen him, and he could now feel her eyes on him. He met her eyes shaking his head. Seconds later another piece of parchment appeared.

_'You were staring at me.'_ He supressed a laugh. He never thought the day would come where Rose Weasley, the daughter of Hermione Granger would be passing notes in class, with a Malfoy nonetheless.

_'Rosie, I'm very disappointed in you, passing notes like this, what would your mother say.'_ He noticed the smile on her face as she read his note.

_'Incase you forgot, my mother wrote the book on House Elf Liberation. You think I haven't heard this a million times. Besides, even I find this class almost intolerably boring.' _This time, he wasn't able to suppress his laugh completely, drawing the attention of every student in the class. Binns however took no notice and kept droning on and on.

_'Nice one Ferret Boy'_ He quirked an eyebrow at her, before scribbling a response.

_'It's my pleasure to keep you entertained Weaselette.' _She smirked at him, and he smirked back.

Class finally came to an end. It had gone by rather quickly for once, but he supposed that was because of Rose's little distraction. The pair headed back to the common room to do some homework before dinner.

It was seven o'clock and Scorpius sat in the common room with his charms book opened in front of him. Rose's cousins had whisked her away to Gryffindor tower for a few hours following dinner so he decided to use his time wisely and get some more work done before she got back.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, are you actually still doing homework? That essay isn't due for two weeks. It's your birthday, you should be having fun!" Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the red head. She was just full of surprises today.

"Who are you and what have you done with Rose Weasley. You know the girl who's always on me to get a head start on my assignments? First note passing, now this...Oye!" She launched a pillow at him and he pack up his books as she sat down beside him.

"Happy Birthday Scorp." She handed him a beautifully wrapped package and she looked at him expectantly as he unwrapped it. He removed the silver paper carefully and opened the box to reveal a beautifully crafted silver pocket watch. It was very simplistic but beautiful. It had his initials engraved on the front, with a pair of deep blue stones separating the letters. He was completely speechless.

"If you don't like it I can take it back and get you something different. I just know you hate wearing watches and I saw that and thought of you so I-" He placed a finger over her plump pink lips, sending shivers up both their spines.

"I love it Rosie, thank you." Her face split into a wide grin, and he leaned over engulfing her in a massive bear hug. "It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it." She told him, her words somewhat muffled by his shoulder. "Now, would you fancy a game of Quidditch?"

"It's almost curfew and we have class in the morning. What if we get caught?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief, who knew that Rose Weasley, bookworm extrodinaire had such a rebellious streak, though with her parents being who they are, he really shouldn't be surprised.

"Come on Scorp, live a little. Besides, we won't get caught." She winked at him before grabbing her broom and heading toward the door. "You coming?" He quickly rushed upstairs trading his books for his broom and followed her out to the quidditch pitch. Just when he thought that he had figured her out, she went and did something like this.

The pair mounted their brooms and Rose tossed him the Quaffle. They played one on one for the next hour and a bit, Rose winning by a mere ten points.

"Good game Rosie." Scorpius told her as they hovered on their brooms in the middle of the pitch.

"You didn't play so bad yourself Scorp."

"This was the best birthday ever Rose. Thank you so much, you're the best." She smiled at him softly, thankful to the darkness for covering up her tell tale Weasley blush. He tossed the Quaffle at her and she ducked just it time or it would have hit her. Her sudden motion caused her to completely lose her balance, despite her best efforts she began to plummet towards the ground.

Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat as Rose fell off her broom and without second thought he took off after her, catching her before she hit the ground. He landed softly on the pitch and helped her to her feet before pulling her into a fierce hug.

"I'm fine Scorp." She assured him, hugging him back with as much intensity as he was hugging her with. She could feel his heart racing as he held her close, resting his head on top of hers, one hand entangled in her curly deep red locks, the other resting on the small of her back as her arms rested around his neck. To a passerby, the embrace would have appeared to be very intimate, not that either teenager minded, they both found themselves enjoying the embrace way too much. It was her who reluctantly pulled back, meeting his grey eyes with her hazel. "I'm fine." She repeated.

"I know, it's just you uh..." His tone wasn't anything more then a soft whisper, as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Scared you?" She supplied.

"No... uh... maybe..." She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, a lot Rosie. Those were the longest ten seconds of my life." He looked at his feet, finding them extremely interesting at the moment. She smiled and stepped closer to him and lightly kissed his cheek for the second time that day, this time being fully aware of what she had done.

"Thanks Scorp, for catching me." She smiled softly. "You know, with those reflexes, you'd make a wonderful seeker." He laughed. "Now lets get back to the tower before someone catches us. As she turned back towards the castle, Scorpius lifted his hand to the spot where her lips had made contact with his cheek and smiled before running to catch up with her. There was no doubt in his mind now that this little crush or whatever he'd been dealing with since first year had developed into something a lot more serious. He had fallen in love with the beautiful red headed Weasley. His father was going to kill him. Her father was going to kill him. Hell half of Gryffindor was going to kill him, she had way too many cousins, and she would probably laugh in his face. Okay, well not really, he'd prefer that she did, she'd just politely let him down, slowly cracking his heart into millions of little pieces.

He sighed to himself as he made the decision that he was going to get over her and move on, her friendship meant way too much to him to ruin it because of unrequited love. She had been the only person who hadn't judged him by his name, who had been kind to him despite how he'd acted towards her in the beginning. She was the only person that he trusted completely and he knew that the feeling was mutual, it meant way too much to the both of them to risk it, besides, who falls in love at fifteen anyways? Scorpius shook his head as he followed Rose into the common room.

"Night Scorp." She told him giving him a quick hug and another soft kiss on the cheek.

"Uh, night Rosie." She bounded up to the girls dorms without looking back. If she had she would have seen her best friend standing there with pink cheeks, grinning like an idiot softly touching his cheek for the second time that night.

Rose flopped down on her four poster bed. Today had been so much fun. She let out a sigh. She had been uncharacteristically daring today, note passing, sneaking out after curfew to play quidditch, not to mention kissing her best friend- on the cheek mind you- multiple times and enjoying it way too much. She hand know for a while that she was harboring more then friendly feelings for her best friend and they were quickly developing more and more everyday. She was slowly falling in love with him. She could only imagine her fathers reaction to that one, not that he would ever find out. Charlotte was the only person who knew about her more then friendly feelings for the blonde, and it was going to stay that way. Sometimes she thought that he felt the same way, but after today, she was sure that he felt nothing more then friendship toward her. He never seemed to react to her touches and kisses, so evidently he felt nothing more then friendship towards her. She sighed again, she needed to get over these feelings before they tore her apart. She made a decision, tomorrow Operation Get Over Scorpius Malfoy would commence, now she just needed a plan.

**AN: I know some parts are kind of cheesy :P**


	16. Final Task and Awkward Encounters

**Chapter #16- Final Task & Awkward Encounters **

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hello everyone, this is a long chapter I finally managed to sum up fourth year which I wanted to do one or two chapters ago, oh well. This is officially the longest chapter that I have written ever so I hope you enjoy it. I should be writing my term paper but frankly Rose and Scorpius are just so much more fun the Archaic Arrow Points... trust me on that one. I'm hoping that fifth year will only be about three or four chapters, things are going to get interesting OWLS, teenage hormones, dating, oh the possibilities ;) I'll try to update as much as possible but I have a lot to do in the next month, three essays and then five finals, but I have two solid weeks of nothing to do after I survive all that. Anyways please read and review.**

The day that everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived. It was the morning of the final task and excitement filled the great hall. "Rose, I don't think that this is a good idea, your cousins don't seem to like me very much." Protested Scorpius as Rose dragged him towards the Gryffindor table.

"Oh relax Scorp, it's fine. Just ignore James and Fred they're total gits don't take them seriously, no one does. Including their parents. The rest of them like you well enough." The pair approached the sea of red heads at the Gryffindor table.

"Rosie-Posy what brings you over to the house of Godric Gryffindor. And what is that," James gestured at Scorpius, "doing here."

"Sod off James. Scorpius so happens to be my best friend and we came over to wish Dom good luck on the final task today, not that she needs it. So you James Sirius can just get over yourself and deal with it." James scowled at his cousin, not missing the appreciative look that Scorpius shared with Rose as she squeezed his hand.

"Zat vas very kind of you and your leetle blonde friend. Now come and seet."

"Um I think it would be best if-" Scorpius began but Dominique would hear nothing of it.

"Tut, tut, I vill 'ave nothing of ze sort. Anyone who iz friends with our Rosie, iz a friend of ours. Now seet." Rose couldn't help but laugh as Scorpius sank onto the bench beside her at the demand of her french cousin.

"Don't mind James, he's a total prat. Just ignore him, the rest of us do." said Lily, who was seated across from him.

"Hey!" James exclaimed.

"Well it's true." Albus cut in.

"Al, you wound me! My brother! My own brother!" James placed his hands over his heart dramatically. "I thought you were on my side! He's a Malfoy. A Malfoy!"

"Yes James, we are all aware of that little fact. How bad can he be? Rosie likes him, plus he's in Ravenclaw and plays Quidditch."

"He's also still sitting right here." Scorpius interjected, reminding the Potter brothers of his presence.

"Uh, right mate... so uh you like...um... stuff right?" Albus said awkwardly, blushing bright red, he'd been unlucky enough to inherit that particular Weasley trait, the rest of him was all Potter. The rest of the Potter-Weasley clan burst out laughing at another one of Al's famous awkward moments.

"Yes, in fact I am rather fond of stuff. It's wonderful isn't it? You can never get bored of stuff." Scorpius said, trying to lighten the situation. "Who doesn't like stuff?Anyone who doesn't must be completely barking mad I say." Scorpius clapped Albus on the back and smiled as Rose gave him an appreciative look. "So tell me Potter-"

"Al." Albus corrected

"Al, so tell me, what kind of stuff do you like? I'm partial to Quidditch myself oh and those funny muggle things with the talking pictures. I love muggles." Al smiled weakly at the blonde Ravenclaw before giving him a thankful look after realizing that Scorpius wasn't making fun of him, but trying to make him feel less embarrassed with the entire situation.

"Who's you're favourite team?" Al asked.

"The Harpies." Scorpius said. "My father was always a Tornadoes fan, so I guess their alright too."

"My mum used to play for the Harpies." Albus said proudly, and Scorpius smiled.

"I know, she was quite the Chaser."

"Still is, Lily definitely takes after mum in that aspect. Just wait until next year when she makes the team, you guys won't know what hit you." Albus said.

"We'll see about that." James huffed.

"What's got your knickers in a knot James?" Al asked his older brother.

"He's. A. MALFOY! Does no one else understand that?"

"No James, no one made that connection at all." Jared said sarcastically and James glared at him.

"What's your point James, because Merlin knows you have one." Albus said, his words dripping in annoyance.

"You know my point Albus Severus, wasn't it you who just yesterday was agreeing with me that you didn't like Rosie hanging out with a Malfoy." James looked pointedly at his brother.

"Well I've changed my mind, a bloke is entitled to a change in opinion. Besides, isn't this ancient family feud getting sort of old?"

"But his father-" James never got to finish his sentence because Rose exploded at him.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! HE IS NOT HIS FATHER!" she shrieked, drawing the attention of many of the students in the great hall. "You need to climb down off that bloody pedestal you've placed yourself on and try and act like an actual human being for once in your life. Just get over it James, prejudices are completely useless they just end up hurting everyone in the end. If you put aside your preconcieved notions for five seconds and maybe had a conversation with MY BEST FRIEND then maybe you could get it though your thick skull that he's his own person. It's not fair to judge someone by who their parents are James, and the worst part is, the worst part is you bloody well know that you wanker!" James opened his mouth to speak but no words came out so he just sat there blinking at his Ravenclaw cousin's outburst. Unfortunately for him she had inherited her father's fiery temper mixed with her mother's passionate one. "We best be going now." Rose stated calmly as James continued sitting there resembling a fish out of water. "We want to get good seats for the final task. Good luck Dom!" Rose gave her strawberry blonde cousin a hug.

"Thanks Rosie, I vill see you both later." Rose and Scorpius stood up.

"Uh, well good luck then. I'm sure you'll have no problem winning."

"Merci, Monsieur Malfoy." With that the left the Gryffindor table and headed towards the entrance of the Great Hall.

"I told you that was going to be a terrible idea." Rose laughed at her best friend softly.

"What are you on about. Everyone liked you, well with the exception of James, but he's a prat. Even Al liked you, and that's saying something he's very much like James."

"I suppose it could have been worse." Scorpius said, causing Rose to laugh again.

"Yeah, at least Fred wasn't there, that would have been a nightmare. James is bad enough on his own, with the pair of them together, it usually doesn't end well." This time it was Scorpius's turn to laugh.

"Thanks Rosie, I feel loads better."

* * *

The stands were packed as everyone waited for the final task of the tournament to begin. As was tradition, the final task was to be a maze full of dark, mysterious things.

Rose was giddy with excitement for her cousin, knowing full well that Dominique possessed the skills and determination to win this tournament. The headmistress stepped out onto the pitch and announced the champions and explained the task to the crowd. After a few moments the task began and the champions headed into the maze.

Every once and a while the crowd would hear noises coming from the maze, hear charms and hexes being uttered as bolts of colour flying. The task seemed to last for ages when finally someone emerged from the maze, clutching the triwizard cup in their hand. It was clear that the figure was female, but Rose was unable to make out whether it was her cousin or not. After what seemed like eternity, the headmistresses voice rang out once again, announcing the name of the champion. "Congratulations to Miss. Dominique Weasley, our newest triwizard champion. Miss. Weasley has shown exceptional skill, wit and bravery, skill which have lead her to become champion. You have done Hogwarts proud Miss. Weasley." The crowd erupted into cheers, those of the Potters and Weasley's being the loudest of them all.

Scorpius glanced over at the red-head beside him, her face shining in pride for her cousin's wonderful achievement and he couldn't help but smile at her. He grabbed her hand and she looked at him, confusion evident on her beautiful features. "Shall we go and congratulate the newest champion in person?" She nodded enthusiastically and he lead her down the stands to join the rest of her family in celebrating Dominique's victory.

* * *

The rest of term flew by after the completion of the tournament and before they knew it they were on the train headed back to Kings Cross to spend the summer at home with their families. Scorpius and Rose sat alone in a compartment near the back of the train, Rose reading another one of her abnormally large books while Scorpius sat staring out the window deep in thought about the red head across from him. This whole getting over Rose Weasley thing was proving to be a lot harder then he had anticipated, especially since the pair spent almost every waking moment together. Scorpius let out a sigh, causing Rose to close her book and set it aside. "Promise you'll write this summer." She stated simply, breaking the comfortable silence they had been sitting in. He looked at her, a soft kind expression on his sharp features as he responded.

"Of course I will Rosie. How am I going to manage two whole months with out you nagging me to doing my homework and eat my vegetables." He tapped the tip of her nose, his eyes sparkling in humour. He tone may have been playful and joking, but his words were nothing of the sort. He really didn't know how he was going to manage two whole months without his best friend. She sent him one of her world class eye rolls. "Rosie." He took her chin in his hand and turned her face to meet his eyes. "I promise." His tone was serious this time, and Rose was taken aback by the intensity in his eyes, it was as if she could see into his soul. He dropped his hand into his lap and went back to staring out the window, but he could feel her eyes on him.

"I have a marvelous idea Scorp." She said excitedly, causing him to look back towards her. "You should come and stay with my family for a couple of weeks, Mum won't mind, and Dad, well Dad listens to Mum." Scorpius laughed. "I'm serious Scorp, so how 'bout it?" His face broke into a wide smile.

"Sounds great Rosie."

An hour later they were off the train and dragging their trunks through the station searching for their families, of course they didn't need to look far to spot Rose's family, the large sea of red hair was a bit of a give away. The began to head towards the Potter-Weasley clan, when Rose's mother spotted them and rushed towards them engulfing her daughter in her arms. "Mum, I can't breathe." The fifteen year old exclaimed and her mother released her.

"Sorry hunny. Scorpius, nice to see you again." Hermione smiled at the blonde boy who stood somewhat awkwardly beside her daughter.

"You too Mrs.- I mean Hermione." Hermione laughed softly at the boy's quick correction, obviously having remembered her request to him at Christmas.

"Mum, can Scorp come and stay with us for a couple of weeks this summer? Please?" Rose looked at her mother with wide eyes and an expression resembling a puppy dog plastered to her face.

"Of course sweetie. As long as Draco and Astoria are alright with with it, I see no reason why not. Scorpius is always welcome in our home." She smiled at Scorpius as she said the last part. She glanced back at her daughter, who now looked anxious, and Hermione immediately knew what was going through her daughters head. "Don't worry about your father sweetie, he'll be fine." Rose couldn't help but laugh at the uneasy expression that her best friend now sported at the mention of her father.

"Thanks Hermione. There's my parents, I'll ask them and then I'll owl you Rosie. Bye." He came over and wrapped the petite red head in his arms giving her a tight hug, which she returned with as much vigor. "I'll miss you Rosie."

"Miss you too." The pair continued to cling to each other.

"Oye, Malfoy! What are you doing to my daughter?" At the sound of Ron Weasley's voice, Scorpius leapt back from his best friend as if he had been burnt.

"Uh, Mr. Weasley, sir... I uh..."

"Ronald! Leave them alone. They're just saying goodbye."

"But Hermione..." The two teens couldn't help but snicker as Ron was scolded like a child by his wife.

"I best be off, my parents are waiting. I'll owl you Rosie." Scorpius gave an awkward wave and went to meet his parents.

* * *

"Calm down Rosie, just because you keep looking at the clock, it won't make eleven o'clock come any faster." Hugo told his sister who was glancing at the clock ever five seconds. "Rose!"

"Sorry Hugh. I'm just excited." She ruffled her little brother's fire red hair. "I just-"

"Can't wait to see Malfoy blah blah blah, haven't seen him all summer blah blah blah. I know Rose, you've only been talking about it all summer." Hugo was far from a morning person, the fact that he was up before noon was a minor miracle.

Moments later, Rose heard the unmistakable sound of someone flooing in and she ran into the living room and launched herself into her best friends arms, causing him to stumble back as he tried to steady them. Rose was so excited that he was to be spending the final two weeks of summer with her family, especially after not seeing him for a month and a half. Well, one month, one week, six days ten hours and eight minutes... not that she was counting or anything of the sort.

"Woah. Missed you too Rosie." He dropped his trunk and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She had missed the sound of his voice, his shaggy blonde hair that was just a little bit longer then last time she saw him, his steely grey eyes and the smell of the cologne that he had began wearing at the end of the year. Rose almost laughed as she thought about her best friend, so far Operation Get Over Scorpius Malfoy was not going well. She hadn't seen him in more then a month and she still couldn't shake her more then friendly feelings for the tall blonde in front of her, if anything they had grown stronger. He had gotten even taller over the summer, having grown at least another two inches, causing him to tower over her five foot six inches.

"Come one, I'll show you to the guest room and then I'll show you around."

* * *

Ron Weasley liked to think of himself as a reasonable man, but when it came to his daughter and the Malfoy kid, his sense of reason completely disintegrated. A Malfoy? He had specifically told her to stay away from the little prat, but instead she had become best friends with the boy, and though he denied it, Ron was finding himself having a really hard time disliking the boy.

Ron sighed as he watched his daughter and the little death eater spawn playing three on three quidditch out back with Lily, James, Albus and Hugo. As much as Ron hated to admit it, the more time Scorpius Malfoy spent in his house, the more he realized how unlike his father Scorpius actually was. He was kind, polite and intelligent. He was beginning to understand why his daughter liked the boy so much, he just couldn't get over how Draco Malfoy, another death eater in the long line of Slytherins, could have a son who was so, well nice. He probably takes after his mother personality wise. Despite this revelation, which Ron would deny to his grave, the boy was still a Malfoy, which still didn't sit right with Ron, no matter how kind the boy was or how much he respected Rose.

There was a tap on the window, which brought Ron out of his thoughts. Ron opened the window, retrieving the six Hogwarts envelopes from Pig before calling the kids inside.

"Hogwarts letters are here." Ron gestured to the pile on the counter top as the teens came into the kitchen. Each of them proceeded to pick up and open their letter.

"I got Quidditch Captain!" James exclaimed excitedly and Rose let out a high pitched squeal, causing everyone in the kitchen to cover their ears.

"I'm a prefect! A PREFECT!" Rose's whole face was shining with joy.

"Congratulations Rosie, I'm very proud of you." Ron hugged her softly.

"Me too!" Albus and Scorpius said in unison.

"Aww, Ickle Ably is a pwefect with ickle Rosie-Posy and ickle Scorpy. Isn't that cute." James teased.

"James, grow up." Rose exclaimed, rolling her eyes at her older cousin, and James just laughed. Hermione walked into the kitchen and was greeted by her daughter propelling herself into her mother's arm. Hermione stumbled a bit. "I got prefect Mum!" Rose exclaimed excitedly.

"Congratulations Rosie! I'm so proud of you."

"Al and Scorp are prefects too Mum, isn't that great!" Hermione smiled in pride at the three fifteen year olds.

"Congratulations to all of you." She told them.

"Hey! I made Quidditch Captain!" James wined, and everyone laughed. "What? I did!"

"Congratulations James. Now get yourselves cleaned up, we're going to Muggle London for the afternoon." As six teens left the kitchen, Ron heard Rose and Scorpius congratulating each other on becoming prefects. Ron and Hermione glanced into the living room just in time to see their daughter beaming at something that the blonde boy had said before leaning up and kissing him softly on the cheek before bounding upstairs.

"That little git!" Hermione grabbed her husbands arm in an attempt to calm him and noticed the blonde still standing in the living room with a pink blush evident on his cheeks and a soft smily lighting up his entire face. A moment later, Scorpius too proceeded upstairs to get ready for their trip to Muggle London.

"That sodding little git!"

"Language Ronald! He's a perfectly nice boy, he made prefect just like Rose." Hermione scolded her husband, something which she had been doing quite frequently lately.

"He's Draco Malfoy's son 'Mione! You remember that greasy, evil, spawn of a death eater gone death eater Slytherin scum that you punched in third year?"

"Yes Ronald, I'm quite aware of who the boy's father is, and from what I can tell, Scorpius is nothing like his father or his grandfatherwas. Give your daughter more credit then that Ronald, she's a good judge of character. Try having an actual conversation with the boy, you may find that you actually like him." Ron scowled, knowing full well that his wife was right, she always was.

"But 'Mione!" He wined anyways, not wanting to give in.

"Don't but 'Mione me Ronald. Now go and change so we can floo to my parents house." Ron looked at her. "Now Ronald!" Ron sighed, giving into his wife. He leaned over and kissed his wife soundly on the lips.

"Love you 'Mione." She laughed.

"You still have to be nicer to Scorpius." Ron pouted, knowing that she had won. "I love you too Ron." This time she initiated the kiss.

"Ew! Mum! Dad! That's gross!" Hugo exclaimed as the six children came downstairs. Ron smirked at his son and leant over to give his wife a final kiss before going upstairs to change.

* * *

"That was bloody brilliant!" Scorpius exclaimed. "I've never been to Muggle London before!" Rose smiled at her best friends enthusiasm. "You're grandparents are wonderful Rosie! They have so many wonderful Muggle things!" Rose laughed.

"That's because they are Muggles you dolt!" she teased. Scorpius had a sort of fascination with Muggles, despite his father and grandfather's displeasure. "You and Grandad Weasley will get along marvelously Scorp. He loves muggles."

The group barely had enough time to drop off their purchases from their trip to Muggle London before flooing to the Burrow for supper.

Molly Weasley greeted the group with a great deal of enthusiasm, giving everyone hugs and kisses as the emerged from the fire place. "You must be Scorpius, Rose has told us all about you." She told him pulling him into a hug as Rose blushed.

"Like wise Mrs. Weasley, Rose speaks very highly of her family."

"Oh pish posh, I'll have none of that! You can call me Grandmum or Grandmum Weasley, just like everyone else." Scorpius smiled at the older woman. Rose's family had been very accepting of him, James, Fred, Rose's father and her Uncle Percy, he had been told not to take that one too personally, apparently Uncle Percy didn't like anybody. The only member of the Weasley-Potter clan that he had yet to meet was Grandad Weasley, who Rose had assured him, would get along with him wonderfully. Molly quickly ushered the group to join the others in the sitting room until supper was ready.

Rose had been right, as usual, Scorpius and Arthur had hit it off and spent the hour before supper chatting casually with him and the rest of her large family quite happily. Rose glanced over at her best friend, who was deep in conversation with her Grandad about Muggle computers and couldn't help but smile. Her family absolutely adored him, and she had a funny feeling that her father didn't hate her best friend as much as he said he did.

"He's a wonderful young man Rose." Her Grandmum told her, as she too took in the scene before them.

"Thanks Grandmum. He was really nervous about spending the entire evening with the lot seeing as the Malfoy's and Weasley's haven't exactly been the best of friends over the years, to put it lightly." Her Grandmum laughed.

"He's quite remarkable dear, the whole family loves him, well for the most part. Besides, I think it's about time that we leave the past where it belongs, in the past. Besides," Molly smiled at her granddaughter, "I think that he would make a perfect addition to our family some day." Rose gaped at her grandmother causing Molly to laugh.

"We're just friends." She said half-heartedly.

"But you wish it was more don't you dear? Don't look so surprised, I raised seven children, I know the signs." Rose looked at her grandmother, an odd expression on her face. "I have a feeling Rosie, that the young man over there shares your desire."

"Don't be silly Grandmum, we're just friends. That's all we'll ever be." Rose looked at the ground, her tone sad and soft.

"Don't lose hope Rose, these things have a way of working themselves out. Look at your mum and dad, you don't know how many years I watched the two of them look at each other the way that you and Scorpius do. Trust me dear." Rose smiled softly and hugged her Grandmum.

"Thanks Grandmum, you're the best." Molly smiled.

"Now run along you lot, supper's ready." Molly told everyone.

Thankfully supper was fairly uneventful, something that was a rarity in the Weasley household when the whole clan was together. "Anyone fancy a game of Quidditch?" James asked after the meal was over. The children all thought that it was a wonderful idea and followed James out onto the pitch out back. "Okay, usual teams then. Me, Lily, Al, Dom, Fred, Molly, and Hugo versus Teddy, Vikki, Roxie, Lucy, Louis, Rosie and since Jared isn't here, Malfoy." Everyone grabbed a broom from the shed and the teams rose up in the air.

Rose winked at Scorpius as they ascended to the pitch which her father and uncles had built one summer before James was born. Scorpius smirked back at her, when the pair played together, they were almost unstoppable. They knew each other so well they could predict the others next move almost flawlessly every time.

The game lasted a few hours before Teddy captured the snitch leading Rose's team to a 370 to 220 victory. By the time that they returned home, everyone was so exhausted that they went right to sleep.

* * *

The Weasley's plus Scorpius left for Diagon Alley early the next morning to purchase their books and supplies before meeting up with the Malfoy's for lunch, much to the protest of both Ron and Draco. "Come on Ronald, it's going to be perfectly fine." Hermione told her husband as the group made their way toward the cafe where they were to meet Draco and Astoria Malfoy.

"But 'Mione, it's Malfoy! When have we ever managed to have a civil conversation with him? Never. It always ends with someone getting hexed, punched or leave me wishing I had done one of the two. This is going to be a complete disaster!"

"Stop being so dramatic Ronald, that was years ago. Everything will be fine." The three children exchanged smirks as Ron got scolded like a child by his wife as they entered the small cafe. Spotting the Malfoy's sitting at a table at the back they made there way over, noting that the expression on Draco's face matched the one that Ron sported.

"Malfoy." Ron said coldly.

"Weasley." Draco's tone matched Ron's as the two men stared each other down as their wives and children looked on amused before Astoria broke the silence.

"Astoria Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said to Hermione, extending her hand which Hermione accepted.

"Hermione Weasley, it is very nice to finally meet you, you have a wonderful son. This is Hugo and Rose, and that's my husband Ron. Don't mind him, we didn't exactly get along with Draco very well when we were in school, but I'm sure you already know that." Astoria laughed.

"Yes, Draco has always had a somewhat sore spot about you, your husband and his family and Harry Potter." Astoria's tone was light. She turned to Hugo and Rose. "Pleasure to meet you both. Especially you Rose. Scorpius never stops talking about you. He did however fail to mention how beautiful you are, dear."

"Mum!" Scorpius exclaimed, blushing a shade of red that Rose thought only Weasley's were capable of reaching. She of course found it adorable.

"Thanks Mrs. Malfoy, it's very nice to meet you."

"Astoria, please." Rose smiled and nodded before turning to Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, it's nice to see you again." She said to him politely, as Draco nodded awkwardly.

Once pleasantries and introductions were exchanged, the two families ordered their meals and lapsed into a very awkward silence.

"I got prefect." Scorpius told his parents, trying to break the tension at the table that was so thick you'd need a chainsaw to cut it. "Rosie did too."

"That's wonderful Scorpius." His mother said simply, her voice full of pride and she nudged her husband, who appeared to be having a staring contest of sorts with Ron.

"Good work son." Draco said, never breaking eye contact with Ron.

"So Astoria, Scorpius mentioned that you work as a code breaker, that must be fascinating. I work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement myself." Hermione said and the two women began chatting about their jobs.

"Well this is awkward." Stated Hugo as the rest of the group sat in complete silence, Ron and Draco still trying to intimidate each other, Scorpius and Rose seemed to be communicating with facial expressions and Hugo just sat there, picking at his lunch praying to Merlin that this would be over soon.

"Well at least our mum's seem to like each other." Rose told her best friend and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, at least there's that."

Half an hour later, which was the longest thirty minutes in any of their lives, after enduring one of the most awkward meals ever experienced, the two families parted ways.

"See you on the train tomorrow Rosie." Scorpis said as he gave her a hug and planted a kiss absentmindedly on the top of her head, causing both Draco and Ron to clench their fists and grit their teeth.

"Bye Scorp." She said, returning his fierce hug.

As Rose and her family walked away from her best friend, she couldn't help but think about what Charlotte and her Grandmum had been talking about. She was beginning to think that the pair of them may be right about his feelings towards her. If they were right, she was definitely going to need a new plan.


	17. Mixed Signals

**Chapter 17- Mixed Signals**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hello everyone, I'm updating sooner then I expected... this is what happens when you pick exceedingly boring term paper topics... good for you guys, not so much for me. Oh well, it'll get done. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and REVIEW! I really do love it when you review, those little messages make me really happy. I just love it when I look at my phone and I have an email saying I have a new review. It's very exciting :) Let me know what you think!**

Everyone had settled in during their first few weeks back at Hogwarts after summer had come to a close. Every single one of the fifth year professors had been continually stressing how important it was for them to do well on their OWLS which they would sit at the end of the year.

Rose sat in the library at six-thirty on Friday evening, her charms notes spread across the table, a scrap of parchment sat in front of her and her quill was poised above the parchment.

"Rose, we've been back for three weeks and you've already started revising? Come on Rosie, that's a little extreme, even for you." Scorpius had come up behind her, causing her to jump at the sound of his voice sending parchment flying everywhere. He chuckled and bent over to help her pick up the scattered notes.

"Merlin Scorp, what were you trying to do, give me a bloody heart attack? You startled me." He sat down at the table across from her, placing the parchment beside him.

"Come play quidditch with me." He stated simply.

"I'm revising Scorp." He gave her a look.

"Rosie, it is six thirty on a Friday night, three weeks into term. You'd rather study then play a game of one on one Quidditch with your dashingly handsome best mate? I'm hurt Rosie." He looked way to damn adorable when he pouted. Actually, he looked way too damn adorable all the bloody time. "You know you want to." He tone was teasing and playful.

"But the OWLS-" He placed a finger on her lips, effectively silencing her.

"Are in June. It's September, you have plenty of time. We already know that you'll get top marks as usual. You're the brightest of our year, Rosie. Everyone knows I'm the closest competition that you've got." She pushed him playfully as she started to pack up, and Scorpius did a little victory fist pump as she did so, causing her to laugh. She rounded the table and kissed him softly on the cheek before whispering into his ear.

"I suppose you're right, I am brilliant." Her tone was almost sultry, sending shivers up his spine as she spoke into his ear. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. She moved back, her tone becoming playful. "And don't think that I will ever let you forget that you actually admitted that I am smarter then you are."

"I said no such thing!" He protested weakly, still getting his breathing properly under control from her proximity.

"Oh Rosie!" She imitated him, "We already know that you'll get top marks as usual, you're the brightest of our year..." Scorpius groaned. "Ha, got you!" She leaned over, kissing his cheek again, knowing she had won. She had taken to that action a lot lately, he couldn't figure out why though, not that he minded, in fact he quite enjoyed the feel of her soft lips on his cheek and he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to really kiss her. "Now, are we going to sit here all night or are we going to go play some Quidditch?" She grabbed her book bag and bounded off to the tower to grab her broom.

As Rose left the library, Scorpius shook his head. He needed to do something about his feelings for Rose before he did something that would completely ruin their friendship. She only thought of him as a friend, that much seemed clear to him. She hadn't ever seemed to give any indication that she wanted to be more then friends. Sure she had taken to kissing him on the cheek, a lot, but that was just the kind of relationship that they had with each other. He smiled sadly to himself, he would just have to move on.

* * *

"Hey Charlotte? Have you seen Scorp? I can't find him anywhere, we always go to Hogsmeade together." Rose slumped onto the bench beside her other best friend at the Ravenclaw table.

"Sorry Ro, can't say that I have. Come to think of it, where had he been lately? I haven't seen him much in the past few weeks. Did you two have another one of your infamous fights?" Charlotte gave her friend a worried look.

"No, but he's been really weird lately. I think he's avoiding me, and I'm not sure why. What did I do Char?" Rose buried her face in her hands, she hated that her best friend was completely avoiding her and she had no clue why.

"I don't know Ro, we'll figure it out, but for now let's go to Hogsmeade."

Rose and Charlotte met the rest of Rose's family at the Three Broomsticks that afternoon, she still hadn't seen Scorpius and it was really eating at her that she didn't know the reason why he was seemingly angry with her.

"Earth to Rose!" Fred's voice snapped her out of her trance. She looked at him, confusion apparent on her face. "What's with you? You've been spacey all afternoon." Rose sighed loudly.

"It's Scorpius. He-"

"If that good for nothing little git hurt you Rosie, so help me I will hex him till next week!" James exclaimed, her brother, cousins and Charlotte nodding in agreement. Most of the group liked Scorpius well enough, but she knew that none of them would hesitate to follow through with exactly what James had suggested.

"That won't be necessary you lot, thanks for the offer though." She cracked a small smile. "I think that Scorp is mad at me, I just haven't the first clue why. He's been avoiding me for the past two weeks. He doesn't even sit with me in lessons anymore." Rose explained. "I can't even think about what I may have done to upset or anger him, but he barely talks to me anymore." Her tone was sad and broken, she wasn't the excitable, confident Rose that they all knew and loved.

Hugo came up beside his sister and wrapped her in a tight hug, trying to offer his hurting sister some comfort just as she had often done for him in the past. She clung to her younger brother as if her life depended on it. This shouldn't be bothering her this much, but the fact that Scorp wasn't talking to her for what seemed like absolutely no reason had broken her, she felt so alone. "Don't worry Rose, we'll get to the bottom of this." The rest of her family, even Fred and James, along with Charlotte nodded in agreement. Fred and James may dislike Scorpius, but they couldn't stand to see Rose this way. "Okay. This is what we're going to do." The group split off into pairs to look for Scorpius in the village. Rose went with Charlotte, Lucy with Lily, Molly with Roxanne, Fred with James, Louis with Jared and Albus with Hugo. "We'll meet back here in about an hour, alright?"

Rose smiled at her brother, when he wasn't being a total annoying prat, he was actually quite sweet. It was obvious to everyone how much he loved and looked up to his sister, even if he drove her mad half the time. She really did have the best little brother ever.

* * *

"What could it be Char?" Rose asked her friend as they walked through Hogsmeade, attempting to locate Scorpius. "I honestly haven't done anything to warrant being completely ignored for two weeks. Do you think that I may have taken the flirting thing a little too far?" Rose had made the decision at the end of the summer that she was going to stop trying to get over her best friend. She had started to notice little things when they were together, thanks to both Charlotte and her Grandmum Weasley, she had started to notice that Scorpius seemed to see her as more then a friend. She had decided that she'd listen to the pair of them and try and show Scorp that she was interested in him as more then a friend too. She was fairly sure in her observations of him, that he felt something more then platonic for her, but she wasn't going to make the first move. "Merlin, what if I've got all this wrong? What if I'm just seeing things that I wish he feels for me? What if I'm wrong Char, what if he does just want to be friends? Merlin, this was a terrible idea, I probably scared him. I should have just stuck to the original plan and gotten over him instead of making a complete ass out of myself! Char, what have I done!"

"Oh Rose, stop being so over dramatic and calm down. I doubt he's even clued into the fact that you're flirting with him, guys can be kind of thick like that Ro, you know that." Rose gave her friend a skeptical look. "Would I lie to you Ro? I doubt that you've scared him off, there's bound to be another explanation for this, we just have to figure out what." Rose let out a sigh of defeat, knowing that Charlotte was probably right and the girls kept walking. "Hey look there's Al and Hugo. Looks like they've found him."

The two girls began to walk towards the boys. Rose couldn't help but smile at the way that her brother and cousin were obviously interrogating the poor boy about he behaviour as of late. She really did have the best family that anyone could ever possibly ask for. They always had her back, no matter what happened, just as she did for them. Then there was Charlotte, her best female friend. Rose and Charlotte had bonded quite quickly when they first met upon being sorted into Ravenclaw in their first year, something that Rose wasn't used to among non-family members. The two girls were dorm mates, and had discovered that even Ravenclaws could be kind of ditzy. The other three girls that they shared their dorm with were very overdramatic and incredibly superficial, and neither Charlotte nor Rose had wanted any part of their drama and had made very good friends out of each other. The two girls had discovered that they actually had a lot in common. They both came from large families, though in comparison to Rose's, Charlotte's seemed tiny. They also both adored Quidditch and played Chaser together with Scorpius on the Ravenclaw house team. They had clicked right away and been friends since day one. They were so close that they were practically sisters.

Charlotte came to an abrupt halt, causing Rose to crash into her.

"Bloody Hell Char! What did you do that for!" Charlotte's mouth hung open, and all she could do was point in the direction of the boys.

"You aren't going to like this Ro." Charlotte found her voice. Rose followed her friends gaze until it came to land on the people in question. Rose felt her heart plummet into the pit of her stomach and her eyes burn as she blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying.

"Bloody hell! I can't believe that stupid wanker!" Rose was fuming. "That. That is why he ditched me! What is his bloody problem!" Rose turned around and stormed away from the scene in front of her as Charlotte ran to catch up.

"Rose, slow down." She told the red-head.

"I cannot believe that stupid prat! I hate him Char. I actually hate him!"

"No you don't Ro, you're just upset."

"Do not tell me how I feel Char! I can't believe I was so stupid. That- argh, I just need to get out of here." She practically yelled, drawing attention from others in the village. Charlotte nodded, taken aback by her friend. Rose's temper was as unpredictable as her father's and as fierce as her mother's. A pissed off Rose Weasley was not a force to be reckoned with, even James knew that. There was one thing for certain, nobody in their right mind would want to be in Malfoy's position right now.

**AN: Aren't cliff hangers fun **


	18. Moving On

**Chapter 18- Moving On**

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone, this will probably be my last chapter until at least Wednesday (that's when my paper is due) maybe MAYBE Tuesday if I manage to finish writing the whole 10-12 pages by the end of today wish me luck, I'm going to need it. Anyways thanks to all of you who have stuck with me for 17 chapters now. I actually can't believe how long this story has gotten. I'd especially like to thank everyone who has reviewed, I enjoy hearing your feedback about what you think of the story so far. Anyways here's chapter 18, I hope you enjoy it. Please read and REVIEW :)**

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It was official, he was an idiot. Scorpius Malfoy sat up on the Astronomy tower, his head hung as he fiddled with the hem of his robes. He honestly wouldn't blame Rose for never talking to him again. He'd ditched her, lied to her and betrayed her, he would completely deserve it if she never uttered another word to him. He knew that avoiding her for two weeks in an attempt to sort out and get over his feelings for her was probably a really bad idea, but in all honesty, he had no clue what else to do, and now, well now he'd really screwed up. He leaned his head back against the cool stone of the castle and closed his eyes thinking back to the previous day in Hogsmeade.

* * *

_Scorpius was standing outside of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on the first Hogsmeade weekend of term. Usually he would go on these outings to the village with Rose and Charlotte, but this time he hadn't. He felt kind of bad for avoiding the pair for the past little while, but he figured that this was the only way that he would ever get over his feelings for Rose._

_ "Oye! Malfoy!" A voice called to him. Scorpius spun around, coming face to face with Hugo Weasley and Albus Potter. The cousins did not look very happy._

_ "Uh, Weasley, Potter, what can I do for you?" He asked, pretending that he had absolutely no idea why Rose's younger brother and one of her cousins was here speaking with him._

_ "Don't play dumb Malfoy, it doesn't suit you. You know exactly why we're here." Stated Albus._

_ "Yeah, why the bloody hell are you mad at my sister?" Hugo demanded. Scorpius took a step back from the thirteen year old, blinking a few times._

_ "Um, I'm not mad at Rose." He stated simply earning two raised eyebrows, one from each of the boys._

_ "Then why are you avoiding her?" Hugo pressed on, it was clear that the third year was not backing down._

_ "I'm not avoiding her." Scorpius told the boys, matching Hugo's tone. "I've just been really busy lately."_

_ "Too busy for your best friend? Come on Malfoy, you two do everything together. Give us more credit then that Malfoy, we're not that thick." Hugo said._

_ "You listen carefully Malfoy. We like you well enough, but if you so much as hurt one hair on our Rosie's head, you'll have a bunch of angry Potter's and Weasley's to answer to." Albus threatened. "And there's a lot of us." Yeah as if he wasn't aware of the two Quidditch teams worth of cousins in that family. "You say you aren't mad at her, so you better make it better Malfoy." His tone changed to one softer and sadder. "She's miserable, mate. She has no idea what she's done to warrant your behaviour. She's been skipping meals and spending way too much time in the library. We barely see her anymore, Charlotte barely sees her anymore. She misses you mate, you need to go talk to her."_

_ Scorpius felt his heart drop. He felt like such a terrible person. He hadn't even considered what Rose may be thinking or feeling about his behaviour. He looked at her brother and cousin, both had solum expressions on their faces, though he could swear that he saw a momentary glint of something in Hugo's brown eyes. _

_ "Scorpy!" A shrill voice rang out. Crap. He'd completely forgotten about her. "Oops" she giggled, a very irritating high pitched giggle. "Who are your friends my wittle Scorpy?" There was more high pitched giggling, what had possessed him to ask Violet Brown-Finnigan to Hogsmeade continued to evade him. She was incredibly annoying and completely mental, and he didn't even like her. He sighed, she was the polar opposite of Rose, which is probably why he thought that she would be a good candidate to get his mind off of his red-headed best friend, but now he was really regretting the decision. She was so needy and clingy and her laugh really irritated him. That and nobody, not even his mother, could get away with calling him Scorpy, and this girl continued to in that disgusting little baby voice. The girl in question had managed to wrap herself around him so tightly that he was having a hard time breathing. He glanced at the cousins, seeing the look passing between them. He shot them a pleading look, begging them to not tell Rose about this, he knew that she would lose it. He had assured her that he did not like Violet at all. He felt like a complete and total git. He hadn't lied to her, he really didn't like Violet, but he knew that she wouldn't see it that way. She'd be hurt and betrayed and probably yell at him and curse at him and then not talk to him for at least another two weeks. _

_ As he pleaded with Albus and Hugo, he could have sworn he saw that glint in Hugo's eyes again as the boy with flaming red hair smiled at him, nudging his cousin to do the same, as if to tell him not to worry, that they wouldn't say anything to Rose. _

_ "Uh, we were just leaving." Hugo said quickly._

_ "Remember what I said Malfoy. You better fix this." The look on Al's face told him that the boy had not just been referring to Rose, but also to the irritating girl who currently was holding him in a death grip. The two boys walked away from the couple as Scorpius managed to pry himself out of Violet's grasp._

_ "Uh, I have to go... there's something I have to do..."_

_

* * *

_

She had mentioned something about seeing him later, but he had really no intention of meeting up with her again. He'd already made that mistake once, he wasn't about to do it again. Out of all the girls in the whole school who he could have picked to try and get his mind off Rose it had to be Violet Finnigan. He could have and should have picked anyone else. He also should have known that there was no way that this situation wouldn't end badly, it was inevitable that Rose would find out, gossip spread like crazy in this school, he hadn't however, known that it would end like that.

* * *

_After leaving Violet in Hogsmeade, he had returned to the castle to find Rose before she found out who he had been with that day from anyone else. When he entered the common room, chills actually ran up his spine as he was met by Rose, sitting in an armchair which she had turned to face the door, a cold, hard, emotionless expression set on her face. He was so screwed. His eyes darted back to the door, wondering how bad it would be if he turned around and ran._

_ "Don't you even think about it." The common room went dead silent as she spoke, he tone as cold and flat as the expression on her face. It was scaring the shit out of him, he honestly would rather her yell at him, he had never seen her this way before._

_ "What the fuck is your problem? Honestly, I thought that you were made at me, that I could handle, but being ditched for Violet Finnigan? Honestly Scorpius, did you think that I wouldn't find out? Gossip travels faster then anything in this building, not that it's particularly relevant right now, I saw enough with my own eyes this afternoon. I am going to ask you this once, and only once, so you better pay attention." Her voice remained flat and emotionless as she stood up from the chair and continued. "Why Scorpius? Why ditch me for her? I told you last year, I may not like her but if you want to spend time with her, go to Hogsmeade with her you should have just said something. I'm a big girl Scorpius, I could deal. Instead, you decide to ditch me, to lie to me and that is the one thing I can't stand Scorpius, lying, and you bloody well know that. So I'm asking you Scorpius, why, why lie?"_

_ He stood there completely dumbfounded. He had not expected this, she was usually explosive and unpredictable when she was angry, this calm demeanor was completely freaking him out. He was grasping for words, but was unable to find them. He had no idea what he could say right now other then telling her how he felt, and frankly, he doubted that would go over very well, especially right now. He glanced at her, noticing that she was blinking rapidly, holding back tears that he knew she would not let spill. He searched for words, any words, but nothing would come out of his mouth. A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek which she quickly wiped away as she took a deep breath. She looked directly at him, her eyes burning into him, but unlike every other time their eyes met, her hazel pools were not warm and welcoming, but rather cold and hard. _

_ "Fuck you Scorpius. I thought that I meant more to you then this. I thought that we were best friends, but evidently you've been fooling me this whole time. I really don't mean anything to you do I? Well I hope your proud of yourself Scorpius, it certainly worked. I hope your happy Scorpius. Have a nice fucking life." With that she turned around, and just as calmly as before she walked up to the girls dorms leaving him standing there, still unable to find his voice as everyone in the common room stared. The two had continuously fought, even before they became friends, but everyone knew that this was different. Their arguments were usually explosive, the two yelling at each other, occasionally trying to hex each other, but this had been anything but. Rose had remain so calm the entire time, he tone completely emotionless, her expression cold and never raised her voice. It was the sole most terrifying experience that he had ever had. He let his head drop as he slowly made his way to his dorm, thinking about everything that he should have said to her moments prior. Now he may have lost her forever._

_

* * *

_

Scorpius let out a frustrated sigh as he tossed a random pebble off the tower. "You could have just told her the truth you know, that you love her?" Scorpius's head snapped up at the sound of Hugo's voice, causing the thirteen year old to laugh at the look of panic that crossed the blonde's features. "I'm not completely oblivious as everyone seems to think. You know that I'm right."

"I'm such a stupid sodding prick." Scorpius told the younger boy, allowing his head to hang again as Hugo laughed.

"No argument from me." The flame haired boy said.

"What are you doing here Weasley? Better yet, how did you find me? Wait, Rose didn't-"

"Rose didn't send me here to kill you, though I figure she should have. Everyone has heard about what happened, Albus wasn't kidding, the family is pissed." Great, just what he needed and angry Weasley-Potter mob after him. "I figured that the pair of you have spent enough time together that it seemed like a logical place to look. Rose usually comes either here or goes to the lake when she's upset or needs to think, though lately she's taken to visiting the Thestrals, but you didn't hear that from me. I figured that someone should come check on you. Charlotte told us exactly what happened, though it was already flowing throw the Hogwarts gossip mills, I've never seen Rose like that before, she's normally a fire cracker when she's angry."

"Yeah well, I definitely deserved it. I've been a horrible friend, a horrible person lately. I told her before that I didn't like Violet, which I don't, but of course she thinks I lied to her because I was out with her. I know she's angry and feels betrayed and she has every right to be. I love her so much Weasley, you don't understand, she means everything to me. I feel like I may have lost her forever and the thought of that is tearing me apart." Scorpius could feel the tears prickling the back of his eyes, as he saw the shocked expression on Hugo's face. "All I wanted to do was try and get over this, to get back to that friendship that we had just began building last year with out feelings complicating things. I guess that Violet Finnigan was probably a really bad choice for that."

"You think? That being said, she didn't actually mean what she said. Not all of it at least. She knows how much she means to you, you mean just as much to her, she knows you care about her, she's just upset, which as you said before she has every right to be. What you did Malfoy was stupid. You know how she can be, she may be driven by logic, but when emotions become involved, she tends to be a tad irrational." Scorpius looked at the third year Gryffindor beside him.

"How are you not in Ravenclaw?" Hugo chuckled and shrugged.

"Don't worry Malfoy, Rosie will come around. She just needs time."

The next morning Scorpius sat at the Ravenclaw table eating his breakfast alone, something which he had become accustomed to as of recently. He nearly choked on his pumpkin juice when he saw Rose walk in, hand in hand with none other then Zacheriah Nott, the Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Scorpius glanced over at the Gryffindor table to the group of Potter's and Weasley's who were all staring at Rose in disbelief. Albus's jaw hit the floor, Hugo looked ready to punch someone, while everyone else were attempting to restrain James and Fred from going and beating the boy to a pulp. He glanced over at Charlotte, who's expression was completely unreadable. Rose accompanied Nott to the Slytherin table, giving Charlotte a small wave as she did so. The pair sat down with the other Slytherins, some of whom were giving Rose some very nasty looks, to which Nott glared and kissed her softly in response.

Scorpius felt sick, watching Rose with Nott. The guy had never really bothered Scorpius before, but now he found himself despising the sod. Charlotte stood up and walked over, sitting down across from him.

"You're a bloody moron Malfoy." As if he didn't already know that. "Violet Finnigan? Violet-Bloody-Finnigan? Again? What the bloody hell is wrong with you? I thought you liked with Rose, you sure have a really odd way of showing it Malfoy."

"Of course I like Rose. She's my best friend." He said, pretending that he had no idea what she meant.

"Oh come off it Malfoy, that's not what I meant and you know it. You're in love with her." Scorpius stared at her for a moment, as she quirked an eyebrow. After a moment he sighed, not having the energy to fight Charlotte on this one.

"Is it really that obvious?" He said quietly.

"No, not at all." She said sarcastically. "It's only written all over your face." Scorpius groaned. "Seems like she's the only one who doesn't see it. Even James has picked up on something, and that boy is really thick. I honestly think that's the reason he doesn't like you." Scorpius looked at her with a shocked expression on his face, causing her to laugh. "You know, she's only dating Nott to get back at you. You are 'dating' Violet Finnigan, so she's dating Nott, knowing that it will bother you as much as you being with Violet bothers her." Scorpius sat there picking at his eggs for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"I love her Charlotte. I really do." his voice was quiet.

"I'm aware of that Malfoy, but why go out with Violet? You knew she'd be mad, especially since you assured her that you dislike the girl as much as Rose does. Now she just feels betrayed." Charlotte ranted.

"I have to get over her Char, before I get in even deeper. It hurts knowing that she'll never return my feelings Char, but not as much as losing her forever does. I just want her back, I want the pain to go away." His tone was sad and soft.

"You are all thick, the whole lot of you." She rolled her eyes. "Boys, ugh, open your eyes Malfoy, you may be surprised at what you discover." Charlotte stood up and left the Great Hall. Scorpius stared after her, very confused. He had no idea what she was on about. He wasn't thick. Girls could be so confusing.

**AN: I feel like Rose was almost too cruel. Oh well. Review please **


	19. Broken

**Chapter 19- Broken**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Yay! I finished my paper so you get another chapter :) It's always wonderful when you finish things earlier then expected isn't it? Anyways, I feel like Rose completely went over the top in the last chapter (I know I wrote it :P) but anyways I feel like I've made her so Hermioneish that she needed a dose of Ron so she got his tendency to over react when emotions come into play. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyways, shall we move on with the story then? Yes I think so. Please read and REVIEW. I'd really like to hit 100 reviews, I'm at 66 right now, think you guys could help me with that? Thanks, hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Ever since the encounter in the common room, Scorpius and Rose had completely ignored each other. Rose was still angry with him for lying to her and Scorpius was miserable that Rose was no longer talking to him.

Ron had been very displeased to learn about his daughters choice in boyfriend, and along with the rest of her family, he made his opinion very clear to her. Rose didn't really care what her father had said, Zach treated her well and she did really like him. Originally she had accepted the sixth year Quidditch captain's offer to get back at Scorpius, to prove to him that she could date just as well as he could, but to her surprise over the past two weeks that she had been with Zach, she had grown to really like him, of course he wasn't Scorpius, but she could deal.

"Rose?" Zach's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "You alright?" She looked up at him, meeting his navy blue eyes. He was rather handsome, with his strong features, wavy chocolate hair, tan skin and deep blue eyes that reminded her of water. He was very attractive yes, and most girls would kill to date him, but though she had taken a liking to him over the past few weeks, she couldn't help but let her mind drift to Scorpius, she missed him with his too pale skin, shaggy blonde hair, sharp features and steel grey eyes, he too was very attractive, something that had not gone unnoticed by Hogwart's female population. She let out a dejected sigh.

"Yeah..." Zach gave her a look, telling her that he didn't buy it.

"Will you just go bloody talk to him? You're starting to drive me nuts."

"Talk to who?" Zach raised one perfect eyebrow at her.

"You bloody well know who I'm talking about Rosie." She gave him a look that could freeze hell. Her tone came out just as icy.

"Do not **ever** call me that." Outside of her father and a select few cousins, Scorpius was the only person who could get away with calling her by her childhood nickname with out getting hexed into oblivion. Zach looked shocked at how defensive she had suddenly gotten.

"Uh, sorry Rose. Anyways, we both know that you want to go and talk to that good for nothing little git, so why don't you just get it over with so we can actually spend some real time together. I don't understand why you'd want to be friends with the likes of him anyways, but either way it's bothering you. Go talk to him." Rose glared at him.

"You don't even know him Zach, who are you to judge him?"

"I don't understand why you continue to defend the prick after what he did to you. Come on Rose, smarten up he's not worth it." Zach said.

"You have no bloody clue what you're talking about Zacheriah. If anything I'm the prick. He didn't do anything to me, well not anything that bad at least. I've been terrible to him! I completely over reacted and said a lot of things that I didn't mean and now he hates me and he has every right to. He wouldn't want to talk to me and I can't blame him. He didn't deserve it. I ruined everything!" She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. "It's not his fault, it's mine. He's probably the kindest person that I know and he would never intentionally do anything to hurt me and I know that." Zach continued to sit there and listen to his girlfriend have a revelation. "It wasn't his fault. Merlin, I'm such an idiot. He's not the bad guy, I am. Oh, Merlin what am I going to do?" She took a deep breath before remembering that Zach was sitting with her. "Don't judge him Zach, you have no right to. I'm going to the library, I need to think." He began to stand to follow her, but she placed a hand on his shoulder pushing him back down. "Alone." Zach looked a little hurt, but he decided that there was no use arguing with her. She noticed his expression and bent over, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. "I promise that I'll come and see you later." With that she turned and left the Great Hall. Zach turned back to his friends. "She's mental, honestly. She's lucky she's hot." Zach's friends laughed, and he smirked.

* * *

It was mid November and Scorpius and Rose had barely said two words to each other. The only times that they ever talked was when they were partnered in class or had prefect duty together, and they both were thanking Merlin that the pairs rotated every week so they had only had to endure one incredibly awkward patrol together since their fight. Both teens were miserable and missed each other dearly. Every time that she saw him, the only thing that she could picture was the expression on his face when she told him to have a nice life, and every time she thought about it her heart broke a little more and she found herself a little madder at herself then before. She honestly hadn't meant most of what she had said to him, but she had gone way too far. She should have just hexed him and been done with it, then she would still have her best friend. They would have ignored each other for a few days, she would have appologised and then everything would have been fine, but no. She had to go all Ron Weasley on him. Everyone always told her that she was exactly like her mother, which in most respects she was, but when it came to emotions, Rose was truly her father's daughter and had unfortunately inherited Ron's tendency to over react in certain situations and now she was paying for it dearly, having lost her best friend because she was jealous.

She knew that she needed to apologize to him even though she half expected him to throw it back in her face and tell her to get lost. She would more then deserve it. She wouldn't forgive her after what she had said, she had gone way too far, even James thought so and he really disliked the blonde. Rose glanced around the Ravenclaw table again, but still saw no sign of Scorpius. Something had to be wrong, he never missed meals, he always was preaching to her about how important it was to not skip meals.

Rose pushed away her own plate, not having much of an appetite to begin with and left the Great Hall in search of Scorpius.

She searched everywhere she could think of starting with the Astronomy tower, the Lake, the Library, anywhere she could think that he could be, but he was nowhere to be found. She trudged back to the common room, which was still empty considering everyone else was still down at supper. Something sitting on the table by the fire caught her eye and she walked over to where it sat. Picking it up she noticed that it was addressed to Scorpius. She knew that she really shouldn't read it, but she was worried about him, whether he hated her or not, she still cared for him way too much. Her eyes prickled with tears as she read the letter, a lump rising in her throat. With every word she read, her heart broke a little more for the blonde she had come to love. "Oh Scorp." She bit back the tears that threatened to fall and suddenly, the common room felt really small. She dashed upstairs and grabbed her cloak before heading out to the one place where she always went when she needed to be completely alone.

* * *

It was almost supper time and Scorpius was sitting by the fire working on a Muggle Studies assignment. "Oye! Malfoy! Letter for you." Scorpius quirked and eyebrow before putting away his assignment and talking the letter from his housemate. He couldn't help but wonder who would be sending him a letter at this hour and not at morning post. He looked at the envelope closer, and noticed that the Malfoy Crest sat on the front. He sighed deeply and sank back into his chair as the rest of his house left for supper. He quickly tore open the envelope and began reading. His stomach plummeted as he read, and tears began to well up in his eyes. This had to be some sort of sick joke, there was no way. He managed to make it to the end, seeing his mother's signature at the base of the page and he felt one warm salty tear escape and make its way down his cheek.

There was nothing that he wanted more at that moment then to go and seek out Rose for comfort, but he knew that it was not a possibility. She was still mad at him, and even though he felt like she was way out of line in how she reacted, he still wanted to go to her. She was his rock in the ever changing world, well at least she had been. _"Rose usually comes either here or goes to the lake when she's upset or needs to think, though lately she's taken to visiting the Thestrals, but you didn't hear that from me."_ Hugo's words echoed in his mind and he dashed upstairs, exchanging his book bag for his jacket and rushed out of the common room, leaving his mother's letter behind in haste.

It was odd when he felt the first one brush against his leg, he had never interacted with a creature that he couldn't see before, but he found it very calming. He was beginning to understand why Rose liked to come here, it was very peaceful and he felt comforted. He felt one of the Thestrals nuzzle his arm. He hesitantly stretched out his arm and rested his hand on it's head, feeling it's silky mane. It was such an odd feeling, being about to feel the animal physically there but not being able to see it. He heard a twig snap behind him, and he whipped around and then froze as his eyes locked with a familiar hazel.

"Scorp?" Her voice was soft and hesitant, her eyes swimming with unleashed tears, a piece of parchment clutched in her hand. The letter from his mother, she must have found it. "Are you okay?" he thought about nodding, telling her that he was fine, but if she had read the letter, which he suspected that she had, he knew that she already knew the answer to that question. Against his better judgement, he shook his head, blinking back tears and so was she. Neither knew who took the first step, but soon the pair were clinging to each other as if the other was the only thing keeping them alive. "I'm so sorry Scorp. About your father, about everything. I didn't mean what I said that day Scorp, I swear I didn't mean it, I know you care... I just..." Her voice cracked. "Can you forgive me?" her voice was meek and he looked at her, silent tears sliding down both their faces, and he nodded.

"Don't think I'm letting you off easy though. It's going to take a while." She nodded in understanding, she didn't care how long it took, she just wanted her best friend back. She leant back into their embrace, resting her forehead on his shoulder, well as well as she could since his was a good six inches taller then her.

"You're father's going to be alright Scorp." She mumbled against his chest.

"You can't know that Rose. He's in critical condition. There's nothing that they can do for him, they don't even really know what happened. He's my father Rosie, he needs to be alright." Draco had been involved in an accident in the Department of Mysteries while collaborating with one of the unspeakables on a case he was working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when something went horribly wrong sending Draco and three unspeakables to St. Mungo's in critical condition. They were currently investigating what happened, but there was no word yet on exactly what had happened.

"He's going to be alright Scorp. Every thing is going to be fine. It has to." Scorpius finally gave in to the tears that had been threatening to fall ever since he got his mother's letter, burying his head in Rose's beautiful deep red hair as she held him tightly, rubbing circles on his back, trying to comfort him. They had stood there for what seemed like eternity before his body stopped shaking and he lifted his head. Rose wiped the last few tears off his pale cheeks and smiled at him, and he smiled back softly.

"Thanks Rosie."

"Anytime." His gaze dropped to his shoes. She placed her hand under his chin and brought his eyes up to meet hers. "I mean it Scorp. Anytime, no matter what is happening between us, no matter the time or the place. I will always be here. Don't you ever forget that. I'll always listen." He saw the sincerity in her eyes and gave her a genuine smile in return.

"Why did you come out here Scorp? Nobody does, well except me. The Thestrals calm me. Most people are afraid of them, but they are completely harmless unless they feel threatened. I've been coming here since first year when I needed to be alone, let's just say I've been here a lot lately. They really are quite gentle creatures." Rose bent over stroking what he assumed to be the mane of one of the babies. "They're a bit odd looking, but I adore them."

"You can see them?" Scorpius looked at her surprised.

"The summer before first year my family and I went to Muggle London. My parents wanted to look at dinner dishes but let me go to the book store down the street. I was heading to the Ice Cream Parlor to meet my parents and brother when a Muggle man lost control of his car and hit a lady on one of those bicycle things. I saw her die Scorp, I've always been able to see them." She explained sadly, giving the baby Thestral a soft pat on the head before standing once again. "You never answered my question." She said as the pair headed back to the castle.

"Hugo may have mentioned something about you finding them calming. I decided to give it a go. Figured it couldn't hurt." He said nonchalantly.

"Hugo." She repeated.

"Yeah, but you didn't hear it from me. I wasn't exactly supposed to divulge that bit of information." She smiled.

"When did you talk to my brother?" She questioned.

"He found me up in the astronomy tower the day after our um... yeah." He ran a nervous hand through his shaggy hair. "Anyways he said that he came to check on me, said you over reacted, which you completely did so don't try to deny it. That hurt so much Rosie, it completely tore me apart. Hugo sat with me and we talked. He assured me that you were just irrational when you're angry, which you are, and he kept telling me that you didn't mean it, that you'd come around. I knew that he was right, but it's going to take a little while Rosie before I can completely forgive you." She nodded. "Anyways, he's a really bright kid, your brother, more perceptive then you give him credit for. While we were talking he mentioned that you had taken to visiting the Thestrals a lot lately, that it calmed you when you were upset or confused. I thought since I couldn't seek comfort in you, I'd go for the next best thing."

"The Thestrals" He laughed.

"It worked didn't it?" She smiled.

"I suppose it did."


	20. True Colours

**Chapter 20- True Colours**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone, I know that it's been forever since I've updated and even though finals have been officially over for a bit now so I have had some rotten luck. Hate it when life gets in the way of writing. I do however have the next two chapters written, just waiting to be typed, so hopefully I'll get them up tomorrow for you guys.**

**I'd like to thank all of you that have stuck with me through 20 chapters now, especially those of you that have sent me reviews.**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter I'm hoping to update quite frequently. I'm not sure how many more chapters there are going to be maybe ten or so, I'm not sure yet. Anyways enjoy the chapter, please, please read and review.**

**Happy Holidays :)**

Zachariah Nott was not happy. Ever since Rose had made up with her pathetic excuse for a best friend, he never saw her anymore, and when he did it was always Scorpius this and Scorpius that, if he didn't know better he'd think that it was Scorpius who was dating Rose, not himself. The six foot three Slytherin stormed down the corridor in the direction of the library, knowing that **they** would be in there. He stormed toward the table in the back corner where the pair always sat, startling many of the other students as he did so.

"Rose?" He approached his girlfriend and her best friend who were sitting at their table laughing about something and he felt a surge of jealousy coarse through his veins.

"Hey Zach. How are you?" Rose said cheerfully after taking a deep breath to stop her laughter.

"I never see you anymore Rose." He said harshly, glaring at Scorpius as he said so. "You're always with him." He spat the last word in disgust.

"He's my best friend Zach, we mostly just revise for our OWLS when we are together, something which you have expressed no interest in doing, plus, you don't even have OWLS this year." Rose tried to reason with the Slytherin Quidditch captain.

"It's almost the holidays Rose, I want to spend time with MY girlfriend before we go home and I don't get to see you for two weeks. You're MY girlfriend for Merlin's sake. It shouldn't be too much to ask for me to want to spend time with you alone, with out the likes of him around. I honestly don't understand why you waste all your time with that sorry sod, he doesn't deserve it." Zach ranted earning himself an icy glare from Rose, as Scorpius looked down at his Charms notes.

"Doesn't deserve it? Zachariah Nott, I cannot believe you right now. He. Is. My. Best. Friend. Accept that. He has never done anything to you Zach, so leave him be. You may want to try having an actual conversation with him before jumping to conclusions about him. Now if you don't mind we have some revising to do, so kindly leave."

"But Rosie..."

"Don't you ever call me that Zacheriah. Leave. Now." Zach opened his mouth to protest, but Rose shot him a nasty glare and he knew that it was useless fighting with her right now. All that was bound to earn him right now was a trip to the hospital wing and the unpleasant process of having Madame Molock undo what ever hex she'd send his way. He mumbled that he'd see her later and stormed back out of the library. He hated that Rose was always right. That stupid sod Malfoy had been nothing but polite to him, and all and all seemed like a very nice bloke, but he was still a Malfoy after all, and nothing good was associated with that name. That sort were not the kind of people that anyone, especially his girlfriend should associate with. What did the blonde have that he didn't? Rose spent all of her time with the git, leaving him barely anytime with his girlfriend. He just had to insist that she patch things up with the prat, at least when they were fighting he got to spend time with her, sure she may have been miserable, but at least he got to see her. Now, however, she was always with Scorpius and when they were together, all he heard was Scorpius this and Scorpius that. If he didn't know better, he'd think that it was Scorpius who was dating Rose. In the three months that they had been dating it seemed like all she could talk about was that death eater spawn, and he was extremely sick of it. She was his girlfriend, all he wanted was for her to pay him a bit of attention, if things didn't change soon, he would make sure that they did.

The next afternoon, he saw the blonde headed down the hall, no doubt coming from an OWLS revision session with Rose.

"Malfoy. I need a word with you." Zach pulled the blonde into an empty classroom.

"Is something wrong with Rose? Is she okay?" A worried expression spread across the Ravenclaw's face.

"She's fine." He said curtly.

"Um, then why do you want to talk to me? You've made it clear that you dislike me."

"I want you to stay away from Rose. She's my girlfriend, not yours. It's me that she should be spending all her time with, not you." He warned. "Besides, she doesn't need your type in her life, you're just scrawny little spawn of a death eater. A nice girl like Rose doesn't need friends like you."

Something snapped inside Scorpius at Zach's words, and the blonde couldn't restrain himself from punching the sixth year as hard as he could, breaking Zach's nose with a satisfying crunch.

"I. AM. NOT. MY. FATHER." Scorpius said through grit teeth, fists clenched at his sides as Zach used his wand to stop the blood that was flowing out of his broken nose. "Whatever he may have done before is in the past. I am NOT him. Apparently Rose is the ONLY person in this school who seems to get that."

"You're a worthless sod Malfoy." Zach spat. "Rose is only friends with you out of pity. She knows that nobody else wants to be friends with death eater scum like you. She's too nice for her own bloody good."

Scorpius' face fell, and he felt tears burning in his eyes as those last words cut him, bringing all his fears and insecurities into the foreground of his mind. That had been an extremely low blow. "Now, if you would kindly stay away from my girlfriend, death eater, it would be in your best interest. I'm never going to get anywhere with her if you're always around. Even you're not dumb enough to not catch my drift, I mean it's not like I'm dating her to improve my study habits. There are more enjoyable activities to take part in then revising and essays. She's hot, annoying, but hot. Who wouldn't want a piece of that." Scorpius felt sick at Zach's degrading words. Rose deserved so much more then that.

"Do not talk about her like that Nott. She deserves to be treated with respect, she's a human being, not an object." He felt his blood boiling, resisting the urge to break the sixth years nose for the second time that day. "She's incredibly kind, friendly, athletic, beautiful, and probably the brightest witch in all of Hogwarts. She's special Nott, and she deserves a boyfriend that will treat her right and respect her as a person. Obviously, that boyfriend isn't you." He tried to sound as confident as possible, but on the inside, Scorpius was shaking like a leaf. Zacheriah sneered at him.

"Aw, well isn't that cute. Death eater has a little crush. Too bad that she's with me death eater. If you so much as mention this little interaction to Rose, or any of her family members, I'll hex you so bad you'll be in St. Mungo's for a month. You listen good Death Eater. Stay. Away. From. My. Girlfriend. Rose will never feel anything but this pity friendship that you two share. I mean, honestly how could she? I mean look at you and then look at me? Why would she love a pathetic death eater like you when she's got me?" With one final sneer, Zacheriah walked away.

"Stupid git." Scorpius mumbled under his breath as he proceeded to punch the stone castle wall with his fist.

'Why would she love a pathetic death eater like you when she's got me?' Zacheriah's words echoed in his head and he sighed. The git had one thing right, Rose would never love him like he loved her. He ran his hand through his hair in defeat before heading back to the Ravenclaw common room.

Upon entering the common room, Scorpius spotted a head of straight black hair sitting on the couch in front of the fire. Charlotte was neither Rose nor a member of the Potter-Weasley clan, so he could talk to her without risking bodily harm.

"Hey Char, what are you doing?" He asked politely, sitting down beside her.

"Just finishing my essay for Care of Magical Creatures. Rose promised to look it over when she got back. She's off with Zach." Charlotte practically spat the boy's name. "He's bad news Scorp, I just know it. I wish that she could see it too."

"Glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks he's a good for nothing sod. I ran into him on my way to the tower, he told me to stay away from Rose." Scorpius recanted the entire encounter that he had had with Nott. Charlotte couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You need to tell her Scorp."

"We've been over this Char. I'm never telling her how I feel."

"That's not what I meant. You need to tell her what Nott said. She deserves so much better then that sorry sod." Charlotte said. "Though, you should tell her how you feel Scorp. You two would be such a perfect couple."

"I won't ruin our friendship over something like this. She means way too much to me, especially since I already know how that conversation will go. I won't do that to myself, or to her."

"How could you possibly know how that conversation would go? I thought you were the one who said that divination was a useless practice."

"Divination is rubbish Charlotte. She's dating Zach, clearly she only thinks of me as a friend. I'm fine with that."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"

"Well, I'd rather be her friend then nothing at all. I will be fine with it. Now can we drop this before she walks in?" Charlotte rolled her eyes. For the two smartest students in the school, the two could be so stupid sometimes. Her two best friends were so oblivious to what was staring them in the face, it was almost funny. Almost.

"You still need to tell her what Nott said. You said it yourself, she deserves a guy that will respect her and Nott clearly doesn't. It would be better coming from you then her learning it the hard way." Scorpius could feel his blood boiling at the thought of Nott being all over Rose like that... he clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Yeah." He grunted. Charlotte smirked at his behaviour. "Nott can hex me all he wants. Rose is my best friend, I'm not letting him do that to her." Scorpius was just about to ask when Rose was due to return when the tower door swung open and the pair could hear angry voices.

"You're such an uptight bitch! It's really not a big deal, we've been together three months!" Nott's angry voice filled the room.

"Not a big deal? Are you bloody mental? It is a huge deal Zach, I'm only fifteen, I'm not ready for that!" Rose yelled back.

"Don't be such a prude Rosie."

"Do NOT call me that!" Rose was fuming. "I'm not a prude Zach, I'm just not ready for that. We will talk tomorrow!" Rose stormed into the common room and sat down on the couch with her two best friends. "I don't want to talk about it."

Rose sat at the Ravenclaw table the next morning with Charlotte and Scorpius discussing their holiday plans. Rose was really excited to see her large family. She was even more excited then usual because this year her parents were throwing a Christmas party this year, and both of her two best friends would be attending. Rose was talking animatedly about her grandmum Weasley whenshe heard footsteps behind her. Glancing away from her friends, she caught the glares that her cousins were sending in her general area.

"Um, Rose, can I talk to you a minute." Zach came up behind her, glaring at Scorpius. "Alone."

"Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of us." Scorpius said.

"Can it death eater. I wasn't talking to you."

"Zacheriah Nott! I cannot believe you! You do not talk to anyone, let alone my best friend like that! Nothing gives you the right to call anyone that." Rose stood glaring up at her boyfriend. Knowing he was on thin ice he mumbled an apology to Scorpius.

"Can I talk to you now?" Rose nodded and after assuring her best friends that she'd be fine, she followed Zach into the hall.

"What do you want?" Rose asked angrily.

"You said last night we'd talk, so lets talk." Zach responded coldly.

" I do not have anything more to say to you on the matter. I've made it clear where I stand on the subject, now either respect my wishes or leave."

"Rosie, we've been together three months. How long do you expect me to wait?"

"Until I'm ready Zach. How many times do I have to tell you to not call me Rosie!"

"Why not? He does!" Zach glared at her, both knowing exactly who the he in question was. "You let that little good for nothing, stupid, slimy, spawn of a death eater you call a friend call you Rosie, but not me, your BOYFRIEND in case you've forgotten."

"That's it!" Rose yelled angrily. "I am done with this Zach. I am sick and tired of you treating Scorpius this way and I am sick and tired of your attitude as of recently. He is NOT his father, or his grandfather. He's a Malfoy in name only. He's my best friend Zach, and as my boyfriend, I expect you to be nice to him as I am to your friends. He's smart and kind and one of the best people that I know, he doesn't deserve to be treated the way you and your friends treat him."

"Merlin Rose! Why are you always defending him, or talking about him. It's always Scorpius this and Scorpius that. I'm your boyfriend Rose, not him, I don't want to hear about his pathetic existence every second of my life!"

"He's a better person then you'll ever be Zach!" Rose shrieked.

"See! This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Zach threw his arms in the air in frustration. "I swear, it's like you're in love with the worthless prat or something!" He yelled at her.

"So what if I am! That is completely off the point!Even if I was, nothing is ever going to come of it. We're FRIENDS Zach! That's it! I'm sick of your petty jealousy. Clearly this thing, whatever the fuck it is, is not working between us. We're done Zach." Zach just stared at her, mouth gaping open at his now ex-girlfriends admittance.

"Petty jealously! Well apparently it was well founded!" Rose frowned in confusion. She played back their conversation in her head, eyes widening as she realized what she had said.

"Oh Merlin, Zach... I... um... well..."

"Do not mention this to anyone. I don't want people finding out my girlfriend dumped me for Scorpius Malfoy. That's just embarrassing." With that Zach spun on his heel and walked away. Rose stood there stunned. That was way too easy. He had barely fought her, and clearly wasn't planning on spreading her embarrassing secret throughout the school. Rose sighed, she had a feeling that she hadn't seen the end of this.

Rose re-entered the great hall, returning to her two friends.

"So? How'd it go?" Charlotte asked as Rose sat down beside Scorpius.

"Please don't say I told you so." She begged her friends. "Nott and I are done. Scorp was right, he's a total wanker. I can't believe I didn't see it."

"I'm sorry Ro, I'm sure everything will be fine. How'd he take it."

"It was way too easy. He just accepted it and left. I have a funny feeling that we haven't seen the last of this."

"He's a right git Rosie, just forget about him." Scorpius told her.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Rose asked quickly. Charlotte laughed.

"Sure Ro."

"Just one more thing." Scorpius said.

"What Scorp?"

"Told you so." He teased her.

"Oh sod off Malfoy."


	21. Blue Christmas

**Chapter 21- Blue Christmas**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own

**AN: Hey everyone! I hopefully will be updating quite often until I go back to school. I have up to chapter 25 written so far I just have to type them up. This chapter is more of a fun one. Anyways please read and review. I'm at 94 reviews and I really really want to break 100, just because that would be totally awesome :)**

"Rose! Hugo! Come help you're father with the tree. It's already two o'clock, everyone is due to arrive at six! Now come on you two there's so much to do!" Hermione called to her children. Moments later the two teens appeared in the great room where the Christmas party was being held. Ron was in the back left corner of the room, loosing the battle with the tangled Christmas tree lights while Hermione used her wand to hang garland and tinsel on the walls. A crack was heard in the entrance hall announcing the arrival of the Potters who had volunteered to help set up for the event.

"What can we help with?" Ginny asked her sister-in-law as she entered the great room.

"You can help me with the garland, Harry James and Albus can help Ron and Hugo with the tree. Rose! Can you come over here please sweetheart?"

"Yes mum?" Rose said walking over to her mother and aunt.

"Rose, you and Lily are going to set the tables. The centre pieces and dishes are in the study. If you need extra help, you can grab your brother."

"I think we'll manage, mum."

Harry took his sons and went to help Ron and Hugo with the tree. "Oye, mate, you're a wizard in case you forgot, just use your wand." Harry said as he approached his best mate. Ron turned a shade of the unmistakable Weasley red.

"Right." Ron said, fumbling around eventually finding his wand, quickly untangling the lights and levitating them onto the tree with a flick of his wrist.

* * *

Two hours later, the two families had managed to finish decorating the room. The children were sent upstairs to get ready, Hermione and Ginny went off to the kitchens to see the house elves that Hermione had hired to cater the event, leaving Harry and Ron in the sitting room reminiscing about their Hogwarts days.

"You heard Mum and Aunt Hermione, we're supposed to be getting ready for the party." Lily told her brothers and cousin.

"Unlike you girls, we don't need two hours to get ready." James told his sister, earning himself an eye roll from Lily and Rose.

"Suit yourselves, but don't say that I didn't warn you when you get scolded for playing exploding snap instead of getting ready for the party." Lily taunted before following Rose into her bedroom.

Lily's red party dress hung on the back of Rose's bedroom door. "What are you wearing tonight Rosie?" Rose sighed.

"I have no idea. I have so many party dresses, ugh, I don't even care. I'll just pick on at random." Rose told her cousin who was staring at her with an unsettling glinted in her eye.

"But don't you want to look good for Scorpius?" She teased, a cheshire cat grin plastered on her freckled face.

"Why the bloody hell would I need to look good for Scorpius? He's my best friend." Lily didn't look convinced.

"Oh come off it Rose, I'm not daft. You. Like. Him."

"Come on Lily, he's my best friend, of course I like him."

"Don't play dumb Rosie, it doesn't suit you. Whether you admit it or not we both know that I'm right. Now go and shower. I'll pick a dress for you that will blow him away. Ahahah! No buts just go." Rose grabbed her towels and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Lily could be down right scary when she wanted to be. When she returned to the room half an hour later, Rose found her silver strapless cocktail dress laying on her bed. Rose smiled, it was perfect. She had to hand it to Lily, she knew fashion.

Over the next hour and a half the two girls helped each other with hair and make-up. Rose pulled Lily's straight red hair into a sleek side pony tail and Lily pinned Rose's curls that her mother had charmed into perfect ringlets out of her eyes, adding some rhine stones to complete the look.

By five forty five, everyone was ready and down in the entrance hall. The men all stood stiffly, looking quite uncomfortable in their dress robes while the women looked elegant in theirs. The rest of the Weasley clan were the first to arrive.

"Oh Hermione dear!" Molly Weasley said as she entered the home of her youngest son and daughter-in-law. "It looks absolutely lovely in here." Hermione smiled at the older woman.

"Thank you. Now how about you all go into the great room. There are appetizers and drinks inside, supper will be at half past six."

"Thank you dear, I'm sure everything will be lovely. Now come along you lot."

Hermione smoothed down the front of her black satin floor length gown as the Potter's and most of the Weasley's save her husband and children filed into the great room. Ron wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, sensing her nerves.

"Don't worry 'Mione, everything will be perfect." Ron assured her and she leaned over giving him a soft kiss.

By the time that it was shortly after six, all of the guests had arrived and the party was getting started. Supper was served at precisely half past six and was absolutely delightful. Once the dinner plates had been cleared, Hermione pushed the tables to the side with a flick of her wand and the party really began. Many couple graced the dance floor as Rose searched the crowded room for her two best friends. It took her only moments to spot Scorpius' unmistakable platinum blonde hair standing near the tree in the back of the room, talking with Dominique and Albus and Rose made her way over to the trio.

"Scorp!" She exclaimed excitedly. "How are you?" Rose all but leapt into her best friends arms, engulfing him in a tight hug which he returned. Al scowled glaring across the room at something. "What's with you Al? And where the bloody hell is Charlotte?" Al mumbled something that Rose couldn't make out under his breath before crossing his arms and scowling.

Scorpius took in Rose's appearance. She wore a simple strapless silver dress that fell to her knees. The top was fitted with a simple sweetheart neckline and the bottom flowed out simply. If you looked closely, you could see that there was a layover of silver lace that matched the colour of the dress itself. She wore a simple necklace and earrings and has pretty little rhinestones sprinkled throughout her deep red hair. She looked absolutely breath taking.

"Uh..." He tried to form words but found himself speechless for a few moments before he managed to string a sentence together. "I'm fine. You look beautiful Rosie." He said softly, a soft shade of pink tinging his cheeks at his admission. Dominique smiled at how adorable the pair was before excusing herself when she spotted her boyfriend across the room.

"Thanks." Rose said softly. "You don't look half bad yourself Mr. Malfoy." She smoothed the lapels of his jacket down as she looked up at him from under her long eyelashes.

"Oh please, you two are making me sick." Al muttered before storming off away from the pair.

"Seriously, what's with Al tonight. He was really looking forward to tonight last time I saw him and now, well I think it's safe to say he's not any more." Rose said, a confused look gracing her features.

"I think that it may have something to do with that." Scorpius pointed to a table on the other side of the dance floor where Charlotte was standing with James, laughing at something that he had said.

"Why would that bother him? I mean I know Al and Charlotte are friends, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh Rosie, come on really think about it. Why would the fact that Charlotte is off with James, Al's brother, have to do with Al's current mood?" Scorpius said, the trademark Malfoy smirk on his face. Rose creased her forehead, thinking about what Scorpius had said for a moment before it clicked.

"Wait, Al likes Charlotte?" She said and Scorpius chuckled.

"Of course he does, I mean the pair of them sit together in every lesson, though I suppose that is sort of our doing. They spend almost as much time together as we do. He would do anything to make her smile Rosie." He told her. "It amazes me how oblivious you can be sometimes."

Rose looked over at Al who was sitting at a table not far from Scorpius and herself, looking absolutely miserable as he watched his brother and crush interact. He stood up and stormed out of the room as his brother leaned over and kissed Charlotte softly on the lips.

"Poor Al." Rose said as she watched the scene in front of her. "I really should go and talk to him. I'll find you in a little bit, I promise." Rose smiled at him sweetly, kissing him on the cheek before rushing off to find her cousin. Scorpius smiled softly, he always admired her dedication to her family.

"Where's Rose going? I was coming over to find you guys when I got a little side tracked." Charlotte asked as she came up behind him.

"Uh, Charlotte, hey. She'll be back. It's Al, he's upset and she went to go talk to him." Charlotte frowned, a flash of worry came onto her face. "What was that all about anyways."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh you know. You. James. Little bit of snogging." Charlotte groaned.

"Bloody little plant." Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Mistletoe you dolt. It's sodding everywhere. Rose's mum really is brilliant." Scorpius gave her a look, asking her to explain. "You know that stupid enchanted mistletoe that we all avoid at Hogwarts in December?"

"Yeah... Oh!" Scorpius said coming to the realization of what Charlotte was implying.

"I hate that bloody plant."

* * *

"Al?" Rose walked into the sitting room where Albus sat, staring blankly out the window into the night. "You okay?" Al said nothing as Rose sat beside him on the couch. "Al?"

"Rosie, just leave me alone. I really don't feel much like talking right now. James is a right git, he always gets everything he bloody wants. Tell me Rose, how would you feel if you saw Scorpius snogging Dominique or Lily? Now please, just leave me alone." Rose leaned in, giving her cousin a hug, willing it to bring him a bit of comfort.

"If you want to talk just let me know okay?" Rose told him, knowing full well that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him right now. Al simply nodded as Rose stood up and dropped a kiss on top of her cousins head before leaving him be and heading back to the great room to find her friends.

"Is Al alright?" Scorpius asked as Rose approached him and Charlotte.

"He just needs some time alone." Rose said. "He'll be okay, it just is going to take a bit." She turned to Charlotte. "Hey Char, where have you been hiding all evening."

"Um, I've been around. Are you sure Al's alright? Maybe I should go see him. I hate knowing that he's upset, maybe I can help."

"He made it pretty clear that he wants to be left alone." Rose told her friend.

"I think I know what this is about. Please Ro, where is he?"

"Char, I'm really not sure that this is a good idea."

"Please Ro, I need to make this right. Where is he?" Charlotte pleaded. Rose sighed.

"He's in the sitting room. Down the hall, third door on the right."

"Thanks Ro!" Charlotte exclaimed before dashing down the hall to the sitting room.

"Playing match maker are we Rosie?" Scorpius teased.

"Oh sod off. The more I think about it, the more I think that they are absolutely perfect for each other." Scorpius smiled.

"Care to dance Rosie?" Scorpius asked, offering her his arm. Rose looked up at him and smiled.

"I'd love to." She took his arm and he lead them out onto the dance floor and they began to sway to the slow tune. The pair spent a great deal of time on the dance floor for the rest of the night. Scorpius tried to lead Rose out into a spin but found himself unable to do so.

"What the...oh" He looked up as saw that the pair of them were being held captive by one of Hermione's 'bloody little plants'.

"Mistletoe." Rose stated and Scorpius drew a shaky breath. This was really going to happen. Scorpius and Rose both felt their heart beats increase. Rose took a step towards him, her pink tongue darting out, wetting her lips. Placing her hands on his chest as she pressed up on her toes bringing her petal soft lips to meet his. The pair was in heaven, both had dreamed about this moment for so long and the reality was so much better then either teenager could have imagined. It was a sweet, innocent kiss that lasted no more then a few seconds, but it was the best kiss that either of the pair had ever experienced. As Rose pulled back Scorpius grinned widely at her thanking whatever God was out there that Hermione was brilliant enough to figure out how to make enchanted mistletoe. Rose smiled back at him, her cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink.

"Happy Christmas Scorp."


	22. Aftermath

**Chapter 22- Aftermath**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hello again. I'm in a good mood so I'm updating again. Please read and review :D**

**I've officially surpassed 100 reviews yay! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, your comments mean a lot. Anyways on with the story.**

"Would you two please refrain from doing that here, some of us are trying to eat." Scorpius told Al and Charlotte, the new couple had the tendency to be overly affectionate. Rose and Scorpius were happy for their friends, but sometimes, the pair could be a bit nauseating. Ever since that night at the Weasley family Christmas party, Al and Charlotte had been an item, and now the two were always together.

"You're just upset because you're in love with my cousin and don't have the balls to do anything about it." Al told him.

"We've been through this a hundred times," Scorpius said defensively, getting irritated at his Gryffindor friend. "Even if I was in love with her, which I'm not saying I am, she does not feel the same way, just because we kissed at the Christmas party doesn't mean anything. Now if you'll excuse me I'm in no mood to be interrogated, I have some revising to do." Scorpius stormed out of the Great Hall, nearly knocking Rose over on is way out. Rose looked at her best friend curiously as he exited the Great Hall. She considered following him for a moment, but he didn't look like he was in the mood to talk, so instead Rose walked over and joined Al and Charlotte where they were sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

"What's with him?" Rose asked her friends.

"He's just a bit on edge with OWLS and everything. The upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin isn't helping." Rose frowned, she knew her best friend, there was more to his mood then OWLS and Quidditch. Charlotte smiled almost too innocently. "So, you and Scorpius kissed at the Christmas party." She said.

"That was four months ago. We got caught under mum's enchanted mistletoe. It was just a simple peck, it's not like it's a big deal." Rose's tone was defensive.

"Not a big deal? Rose are you really that thick? Of course it's a big deal, the pair of you have been in love with each other for over a year!" Al said, exasperated.

"Scorpius is not in love with me!" Rose snapped at her cousin before standing up and storming out of the great hall.

"For some one so smart, she can be really dumb sometimes." Al told his girlfriend.

"Those two are hopeless."

* * *

"Omph!" Scorpius Malfoy awoke on a Saturday morning in April by having a pillow hit him in the face. "What the-Rose? What the bloody hell are you doing here? It's nine o'clock on a Saturday!"

"Quidditch Scorp! The match against Slytherin starts in an hour, now come on!" Scorpius leapt out of bed, forgetting that he was wearing only his boxers as he did so. Rose smirked.

"Snitches Scorp? Really? I thought that you would be a little more original, perhaps hippogriffs?" Scorpius, realizing his state of undress turned a brilliant shade of red that would have made the Weasley's proud.

"I'll meet you in the common room." With a final look at her best friend Rose made her way out of the fifth year boys dorms and down to the Ravenclaw common room.

* * *

"Another ten points to Ravenclaw. I've never seen Weasley play like this before, she's on fire today!" Ravenclaw was currently creaming Slytherin 120 to 30. Rose found herself even more determined to win then usual just to stick it to her ex-boyfriend and the over cocky Slytherin team. Rose was hoping that their seeker would catch the snitch soon ensuring their victory over the Slytherins and securing them the place in the Quidditch finals against her cousins in Gryffindor. Scorpius shot Rose a smile and the pair set off after the Slytherin chaser who had possession of the Quaffle. It was pretty much a given that Ravenclaw would be the team to face off against Gryffindor in the finals in June, their seeker Jacob White was new to the team this year, but the third year was one of the most promising players in the school and a much better seeker then her ex-boyfriend could ever dream of being. Rose had no doubt in her mind that when it came down to it, Jacob would beat Zach to the snitch hands down.

"Malfoy gains possession of the Quaffle passing it to Jenkins and back to Malfoy. Malfoy dodges left tossing the Quaffle back to Weasley. Weasley speeds towards the end of the pitch, oo that was a close one." Rose dropped her altitude quickly causing the two Slytherin players who had been trying to sandwich her to crash into each other. The Slytherins were the most aggressive team of the four, but they were being worse then usual today, especially in regards to her. She had dodged more bludgers today then she had in the past year. "Weasley deaks left tossing the Quaffle back to Malfoy who puts it through the centre hoop. Ten points to Ravenclaw! Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle." The three Ravenclaw chasers took off after the Slytherin chaser currently in possession, Rose just barely being grazed by a bludger on her left shoulder.

"Bloody hell" she said under her breath speeding up and swiping the Quaffle from the lone Slytherin chaser who was headed towards the goal.

"The snitch has been spotted!" The cheering in the stadium increased as both Nott and White dove after the little golden ball. White was ahead of Nott, but the latter was gaining speed and soon were neck and neck. Both seekers grabbed for the ball as Rose took advantage of the Keeper's distraction putting another goal past him. The crowd let out screams and cheers of victory as White's hand closed around the tiny golden ball. "Jacob White has captured the snitch earning Ravenclaw 150 points. Ravenclaw wins!"

The crowd's cheers got louder as the winner was announced. Ravenclaw had won 290 to 30 and would be facing Gryffindor in the finals in June. The Ravenclaw team descended and headed into the dressing room their spirits soaring. "Weasley! Great game, I've never seen you play like that before." Noah Jenkins, their captain told her. "That was bloody brilliant!" Rose smiled at her team.

"You know what they say about a woman scorned..." White piped up teasingly.

"Sod off White!" White gulped as he took in the expression on Rose's face. Rose smiled. "I'm just teasing kid." Jacob looked relieved at the mischievous sparkle in the fifth years eye. The rest of the team laughed.

"Any chance you're planning on dumping one of the Gryffindor players before the finals?" One of the beaters asked her, earning him a bunch of odd looks from the rest of the team. "What?"

"She's related to every member of that team Dudley." Jacob said matter-of-factly. He was friends with Lily and Hugo, and the entire school knew full well that the Weasley-Potter clan dominated Gryffindor, and the Scarlet house's Quidditch team.

"I need to keep my bragging rights. We've beat them for the past four years, I'm not about to let them win now." Rose said.

The guys laughed. "That's our girl!" Jenkins said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Now come on, hit the showers, we have a celebration to get to."

* * *

By the time that Rose had gotten back to the Ravenclaw common room, the party was in full swing. "Well there's our little fire cracker!" Jenkins exclaimed as Rose approached her teammates. "Would you care for something to drink?" Rose nodded and the captain took off to fetch her a butter beer. Rose stood talking to her teammates for a few moments before Scorpius pulled her to the side.

"Seems like the captain's taken a liking to you." He stated, his tone containing a bitter undertone that he could not help. Rose blushed at her best friends words.

"Yeah..." Rose said. "I'm not too sure how to feel about it though. I mean he's graduating in two months, and the OWLS, besides there's... uh, never mind."

"There's what Rosie? Oh or should I be saying who? Come on Rosie, you know you're going to tell me." Scorpius teased his best friend. "You like someone, oh come on tell me who it is." He kept his tone light and teasing, but it was killing him not knowing who had captured his Rosie's heart.

"That Mr. Malfoy is none of you're business." She said defensively. "Besides, it's not like it even matters because nothing is ever going to come of it. He doesn't see me that way."

"Well then he's a bloody idiot." Scorpius said softly so that she couldn't hear.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Uh, nothing, never mind." He felt a blush appear on his cheeks and Rose gave him a sort of odd look.

"Here Rose." Jenkins handed her a cold butter beer. "Oh Malfoy, how's it going." The trio lapsed into a comfortable conversation.

"Rosie! Great game you played today. Too bad we're going to crush you in the finals." Came the unmistakable voice of her cousin Al as he approached the group.

"Is that so? Just remember who it is who has won the cup for the past four years running. I believe that we are the ones that are going to be crushing you, as usual. Honestly Al, when is the last time that you beat me in a Quidditch match?"

"Well that's about to change my dear cousin." Scorpius and Jenkins shared a smirk at the friendly rivalry between the cousins. Rose laughed.

"We'll see about that Al, but some how I doubt it." Rose smirked and her cousin stuck out his tongue at her. "Oh real mature Potter." Rose said and then returned the gesture.

"You're one to talk." Both cousins burst out laughing.

"Uh, Malfoy, can I talk to you a second?" Jenkins asked "It's, uh, about Rose." Scorpius nodded and followed the captain out of the common room, leaving Rose and Al to their banter.

"What's up mate?" Scorpius asked.

"Um... are you and Rose, you know like a, you know thing..." The seventh year asked awkwardly. Scorpius looked at him confused. "You know, like a couple?" Scorpius looked at the eighteen-year-old his mouth forming a perfect o.

"Uh, no, we're, uh, just, you know, friends." Scorpius stuttered unconvincingly.

"But you want to be." Jenkins stated.

"Where are you going with the Jenkins?"

"It's just Rose, well, Rose is an amazing girl, not that I need to tell you that, but I was, well I think I want to ask her out I just, well I don't want to get in the way of anything." Scorpius looked at the older boy, an exasperated look on his sharp features.

"It doesn't matter what I want. Rose, as amazing as she is, is my best friend, and that's it. That's all she sees me as. Her best friend. She deserves to be happy, and if you want to ask her out, I won't stand in your way, no matter what I may feel." With every word Scorpius head himself say, he felt his heart break a little bit more. It may have been painful, but he meant what he said, Rose deserved to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to-"

"Don't worry about it. Rose and I are just friends." He said. Jenkins smiled and headed back into the common room. "That's all we'll ever be."


	23. OWLS and Finals

**Chapter 23- OWLS & Finals**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own.

**AN: Hey again everyone. Here's the next chapter, last one for fifth year. There will be one of the summer between and then on to year six! Please read and review :D**

The next two months flew by faster then anyone could have anticipated. Days were filled with lessons and revising for the OWLS and evenings with lengthy grueling quidditch practices and more revising and the Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor was only a week away.

"Argh! History of Magic is so bloody boring!" Charlotte said in frustration tossing her book on the library table in front of her. "I mean come on, who hasn't had the Battle of Hogwarts shoved down their throats for the past five years. I mean I'm muggle born and I can practically recite it from memory." Rose couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"I know Char. Need I remind you that it was Al's father and my parents that were at the centre of it." It was Charlotte's turn to laugh. "Perhaps we should move on. Anyone for Defense?" Rose asked her friends, all of whom agreed. The four of them spent the next two hours reviewing everything from Boggarts to Patronus Charms and everything in between.

Scorpius glanced at his watch. "Shoot. Come on Rosie, we have Quidditch practice in fifteen minutes. If we don't leave now we're definitely going to be late. Let's leave the love birds to revise for Divination." Rose rolled her eyes at the mention of Divination. Scorpius smirked at her as the pair packed up their things and made their way out to the pitch for practice.

"Malfoy! Weasley! You're late!" Jenkins called to them as the pair rushed out onto the pitch.

"Sorry Noah." Rose said. "We were revising with Al and Charlotte, lost track of time." Noah smirked.

"Well come on then, we have a practice to start." The three mounted their brooms and flew to meet the rest of the team who had already began flying laps around the pitch.

Following the Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin match, things had gotten to be a bit awkward. After his conversation with Scorpius, Jenkins hand sought out Rose and asked her to accompany him to Hogsmeade the following weekend. Rose had been flattered, but ultimately declined. Noah was a nice guy, but she wasn't sure of her feeling towards him. Also, with her OWLS and his NEWTS coming up and his pending graduation, she didn't think that it was a good idea for them to get involved. It had been rather awkward for the first few weeks, but over the past couple, it had subsided and Rose and Noah were better friends then they had been before.

After the grueling four hour practice came to a close Rose and Scorpius showered and headed up to Ravenclaw tower, making a brief stop in the kitchens for a small supper. By the time that the pair got back to the common room, it was eight thirty, both exhausted from the intense practice they had just endured.

"Promise me Rosie, when you're Captain next year, you will not do that to us." Rose laughed as the pair flopped down on the couch in front of the fire.

"What makes you think I'm going to be Captain? You have just as much of a chance of being named Captain as I do. Besides, I don't think I want to be Captain, I mean it would be a wonderful opportunity, but I don't know if I'm cut out for it."

"You're a natural leader Rosie, they'd be mental not to name you Captain, you'd do great." Rose smiled at him.

"We really should do some more revising. OWLS start in only two weeks." Rose said, changing the topic, something which didn't get past her best friend. He smirked at her.

"Smooth." Rose smirked. "So, Arithmancy or Runes?" He asked, a half smile gracing his features. He honestly had no desire to revise after the four hour practice, but he knew Rose was right, as much as he hated to admit it, she always was.

"We can do some of each." Rose replied, standing up, bounding towards the girls stairs. "And Scorp?"

"Yeah?"

"Mine will be worse." She winked at him and rushed up the stairs to grab her notes. He had always admired her energy, he couldn't believe that after the practice that they had been through, she was still as energetic as ever. Scorpius shook his head, he had no doubt that her practices would make Jenkins' practices look like child's play.

The pair sat in the common room revising until midnight. Scorpius glanced over his shoulder at Rose, she had been silent for the past fifteen minutes and couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. Rose had fallen asleep behind him on the couch. He was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back against it, his notes laid out on the table in front of him. Rose had been laying out on her stomach, her notes that were now acting as a pillow laying in front of her on the dark blue suede sofa.

Scorpius leaned over, brushing a stray lock of dark red hair out of her face. She looked so beautiful when she was asleep. The worry lines that frequently creased her forehead were smooth. She looked peaceful and innocent and he hated to wake her, but he knew that she'd kill him if he left her there. He leaned over her once again, pushing back that unruly piece of curly red hair once again. "Rosie." He whispered in her ear, shaking her slightly. "Come on Rosie, time to wake up."

Rose blinked, re-entering the world of the conscious. She looked up into Scorpius' eyes which held a tender look. "Scorp?" She whispered and moments later she shot up in her seat. "Oh Merlin Scorp, I'm sorry I fell asleep, we were supposed to be revising."

"Don't worry my dear Rosie, you've only been asleep for about fifteen minutes." He told her, tapping her on the tip of her nose. "Now, I think it's time we called it a night, pick it up again in the morning." Rose smiled at her best friend thankfully as they packed up their notes.

"Night Scorp." She said softly, standing on her tip toes and kissing him softly on his cheek. She smiled at him shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She gave him a little wave before heading up to the girls stairs. Scorpius blushed slightly.

"Night Rosie."

"Potter has possession of the Quaffle, who passes it to Weasley, who passes it to Weasley and back to Weasley. Weasley sends a bludger flying towards Weasley. Bloody hell there are just too many of them!" The crowd was going wild as the most anticipated Quidditch game of the year continued.

"Rose Weasley speeds towards the Gryffindor goal. It's brother vs. sister, who's going to win this battle. Rose dodges right releasing the Quaffle as Hugo dives left intercepting the Quaffle just before the hoop. Gryffindor is ahead 120 to 110. Better luck next time Rose." Cheers of 'Go. Go. Gryffindor.' could be heard ringing throughout the stadium, though they were met by the equally loud cheers of the Ravenclaw supporters. "Jared Weasley has possession of the Quaffle. The snitch has yet to make an appearance. Oh! Nice dodge by James Potter as Malfoy steels the Quaffle from Weasley." Scorpius winked at Rose as the pair sped toward the goal, passing the large red ball back and forth between the two of them as the goal got closer and closer. Scorpius smirked as he tossed the Quaffle back to Rose one final time and she sent the large red ball flying over her brothers head. The crowd went wild as she sent a wide grin to her brother, who narrowed his eyes at his older sister. "The snitch has been spotted!" Rose whipped around and saw both her cousin and White shooting straight up in the air, chasing after the illusive golden ball. The boys turned sharply before spiraling down towards the ground, neck in neck chasing the snitch. Both boys reached out and a hand grasped the snitch. The crowd errupted into cheers as Jacob White held up the snitch proudly. Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch cup for the fifth year running.

Rose's face split into a wide grin as Scorpius flew over to her, giving her an awkward side hug as they were both still on their brooms. Both teams descended and Rose ran over to White, giving him a friendly hug. "Well done Jared." Rose told the seeker.

"Thanks Rose." The third year told her.

"I mean it kiddo. You played extremely well." Rose said. She glanced over her shoulder at the solemn looking Gryffindors on the other side of the pitch. "Excuse me for a second." She told her teammates before rushing over to her brother and cousins.

"Good match."She said to her family members.

"You too Rosie." They told her.

"Hey Al, what was it that you were saying about crushing us today?" Al glared at her.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, staring at his feet.

"You played really well Al. It was extremely close." She told her cousin, giving him a friendly hug.

"Thanks Rosie. So did you." The cousins smiled at each other.

"Now, I'm sure Charlotte is looking for you." Rose said, causing Al's face to light up. Rose laughed as her cousin ran off to find his girlfriend and she returned to her teammates.

"I believe we have a well deserved celebration to get to." Said Jenkins.

"Well boys, what are we waiting for?"

"I'm exhausted." Rose exclaimed as the fifth years filed out of their final OWLS exam.

"That was brutal!" Said Al, transfiguration had never been a particular strength of his.

"You can say that again." Scorpius agreed.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." Rose exclaimed earning a laugh from her friends.

"Yeah, says the daughter of Hermione Granger." Said Charlotte. "Sorry Rose, I'm gonna have to go with the boys on this one. That exam was brutal."

"Maybe, if the three of you had stuck to my study schedule you-"

"Sorry Rosie, hate to break it to you but there's more to life the studying." Al said.

"I know that Al, I'm not daft."

"Not all of us have the Granger brains." He teased, earning an eye roll from Rose.

"Now come on you lot, we have to go pack." Her friends couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. "What? The train leaves tomorrow and our trunks aren't going to pack themselves."

"Rosie, this is our last here before we go home." Al said. "My dad's old cloak hasn't been put to use in much too long."

"Al, all of us can't fit under that thing." Rose protested, though she knew Al was quite aware of this fact.

"Oh come on Rosie. You know you want to." Scorpius teased.

"Oh fine."


	24. Meet the Malfoy's

**Chapter 24- Meet the Malfoy's **

**Disclaimer:** Don't own

**AN: Hello everyone. I know it's been a while since i've updated, but I'm back at school now and am literally buried in hundreds of pages of readings each week. Anyways, I managed to catch a bit of a break so I'm updating :) I'm working on getting what i have written typed up so I can just post them quickly when I'm busy. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter. Please read and review. **

**-SM**

"You're sure you have everything Rose?" Hermione asked her daughter for the hundredth time that morning.

"Yes mum." The sixteen-year-old said.

"Toothbrush, hair brush, pajamas-"

"Mum! Don't worry. I have everything."

"Yeah, she's only been packed for what? Two weeks?"

"Hugo!" Rose exclaimed, causing a satisfied smirk to appear on the ginger haired boy's face, earning him a smack from his sister.

"OUCH! Mum Rose hit me!"

"Will you two please behave!" Hermione said sternly. "Now Hugo, help you sister with her bags."

"But mum!" The fourteen-year-old whined.

"Now Hugo." This time, it was Rose who smirked.

The three Weasley's headed down the stairs, meeting a glum looking Ron in front of the fireplace. Rose would be spending the last two weeks of her summer vacation at Malfoy Manor with Scorpius and she was more then excited. Ron on the other hand, was less then thrilled that his only daughter was to be spending any amount of time in the house of his old school enemy, especially after what had happened there during the war.

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped at her husband. "Come and say goodbye to your daughter."

Ron slowly made his way towards Rose. "Now Rosie, you know that I don't like the idea of you spending any time in that godforsaken place-"

"Ronald!"

"Anyways, I hope you have fun sweetheart. Even if it is with a Malfoy. Just uh no, you know..."

"Dad!" Rose exclaimed horrified at what her father was implying. "We're just friends!"

Hermione glared at Ron and Hugo looked disgusted as Rose stepped into the fireplace, floo powder in one hand, her bag in the other.

"Malfoy Manor!" She cried and was engulfed in green flames emerging from the Malfoy's fireplace only seconds later.

"Rosie!" She was greeted by the smiling face of her best friend that she had missed over the past month and a half. Rose put her bag down and launched herself into the waiting arms of the blond haired boy. He wrapped his arms around her small body firmly, but gently and buried his face in her hair. "Missed you." He murmured into her deep red curls.

"Missed you too Scorp." Someone cleared their throat behind them causing them to spring apart quickly.

"Scorpius." The cool voice of Draco Malfoy filled the room. "Why don't you show Miss. Weasley where she will be staying. Supper is in an hour."

"Yes father." Scorpius replied obediently, picking up Rose's bag and guided her with one hand on the small of her back.

"It's nice to see you again Mr. Malfoy." Rose said politely as they passed by Draco.

Scorpius lead Rose upstairs to the third floor of the Manor, guiding her down the hall and leading her into a large bedroom. He placed her bag on the large chair by the window as Rose took in the beauty of the room.

It was large and spacious. The walls were a pale brown with a white chair rail running through the middle of the wall. The bottom half of the wall was covered in brown and gold striped wallpaper. A large four poster bed stood in the middle of the room. There were four large bookshelves against the far wall. A mahogany dressing table beside the door, a matching dresser stood at the foot of the bed. A large closet stood to the right of the bed. There was a large bay window across from the bed complete with a window seat and then the large armchair where Scorpius was currently standing. "Wow." She said, causing her best friend to laugh.

"The door over there leads to your bathroom."

"My bathroom?" He laughed again. "Wow, this place is huge."

"My bedroom is across the hall and my parents room is in the other wing. My grandparents live on the second floor, they generally keep to themselves. Oh, and when we see them at dinner, try not to take anything grandfather says personally. He still hasn't gotten over the fact that he lost the war." Rose nodded. "Supper is in half an hour, I'll come and get you before we go down. Wear something nice. Uh, not that what you're wearing isn't nice or anything but just ah-" Rose laughed as her best friend blushed an adorable shade of pink.

"I know what you mean. Thanks Scorp." She kissed his cheek softly and he left her to get ready. Rose quickly unpacked and selected an outfit for dinner. She grabbed her make-up bag and headed into the bathroom. It was as spectacular as her room was. It was massive with twin sinks, a large jacuzzi tub and a massive walk in shower. Rose dressed quickly in a simple black skirt and turquoise blouse. She brushed her curls, pinning the front back out of her face and applied light make-up. Exiting the bathroom she put on her black flats and left her room, heading across the hall and knocking on her best friends door.

Scorpius opened the door and she was met with the wonderful sight of her best friend standing there in just his black slacks. Her eyes raked over his toned chest before meeting his eyes. "Um, I was ready... so... um... yeah..." Scorpius moved out of the way allowing her to enter the room. His room looked much like her own, but it was blue instead of brown with Ravenclaw banners hanging proudly on the wall. As Scorpius finished getting ready, Rose wandered around the room. There were a few pictures scattered around the room, but one in particular caught her eye. It was one of the two of them at her parents Christmas party, she hadn't even been aware that it was taken. Her picture self beamed up at picture Scorpius, who returned her smile as he spun her, catching her in his arms and holding her close. Rose smiled softly.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked coming up behind her as he buttoned his blue shirt.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked, holding up the picture frame.

"Oh, Al gave it to me. Apparently Hugo was taking pictures all night. Quite the photographer your brother is. Anyways, it's one of my favourites." Rose smiled again as she carefully placed the picture back on his bedside table. "Shall we?" Scorpius offered her his arm which she accepted and the pair headed down to the dining room. Scorpius pulled out her chair for her before sitting in the chair beside her. Moments later his parents and grandparents entered, taking their seats at the table as the house elves began to serve dinner. Rose smiled at the elves politely, thanking them as they left the room.

"So much like your mother you are." Lucius Malfoy told her.

"Thank you sir." Rose said, earning her an amused look from Draco, and a scowl from Lucius. "My mother is an exceptional woman, I can only hope to be half of what she is someday." Scorpius smiled with pride at how Rose handled his grandfather. Most people would have simply been silent, or ignored his grandfathers comments, but Rose was different. Scorpius grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly under the table.

"Rosie, you're brilliant. You're going to do exceptional things someday, I know you will." Scorpius smiled at her softly as she blushed a soft pink, returning the smile.

"Rose dear, how is your family. They seem like such lovely people." Astoria asked.

"They're wonderful. Teddy and Victoire got married last month. Grandmum loves hosting weddings, she loves having the whole lot of us together." Rose responded politely.

"Yes, well I'm sure she's used to cramming a whole lot of people into that sorry excuse for a house. Isn't it a one room?" Lucius snarled.

"Grandfather!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it Scorp, it's fine. The burrow is a lovely little place, it's a little cosy when we're all there, but I wouldn't have it any other way." Rose said to her best friend softly, before the table lapsed into an awkward silence for the rest of the meal.

When supper was finished, Scorpius showed her the rest of the house before taking her back upstairs to her room.

Rose got ready for bed quickly before deciding that she would go to the large library and read for a while before going to sleep. She slipped out of her room and headed down the stairs towards the library. As she walked quietly down the hall, she heard raised voices coming from the drawing room and froze when she heard her name.

"A Weasley Scorpius? Associating with the half-blood spawn of a mudblood and a blood traitor! What is wrong with you, you're a Malfoy for Godsake."

"Rose happens to be my best friend and I don't care what you think. I'm not my father, I'm not going to let you manipulate me or run my life the way you did his." She heard a smack and gasped.

"You are not to speak to me like that you insolent fool. You need to sort out your priorities and be smarter when it comes to selecting your friends. They're trouble that lot is."

"I will speak to you however I see fit. Rose is a guest in this house and my best friend whether you like it or not and you will treat her with respect. I don't care what your views of her or her family are, you will not insult her like that again. She's a wonderful girl grandfather." Scorpius shouted back.

"You ungrateful child! You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do. I can't believe, after everything I've done for you-"

"Everything you've done? Because of you, most of my classmates hate me, label me a death eater, write me off a scum without making an effort to know me. That's what you've done for me. Rose is the only person who has always been kind to me, even though she is the one person who had every right not to." Rose had heard enough, she passed by the door and continued to the library. "I love her!"

* * *

Draco Malfoy entered the drawing room upon hearing the raised voices of his father and son. A shiver ran up his spine as he entered the cold room. Ever since the war, he had done his best to avoid this particular room, choosing to not make much use of it. "Love her? You foolish child! Draco, reason with your son." Lucius demanded. "This boy needs to be set straight. Associating with mudbloods and blood traitors, he's bringing shame to the Malfoy name."

"Rose is my best friend and you can't do anything about that!" Scorpius shouted at his grandfather for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

"Silence!" Draco said. "Scorpius, please leave us."

"But dad!"

"Scorpius, I am your father and you will do as I say." Scorpius scowled as he left the drawing room.

"You do not get to tell my son who he will be friends with. I will not let you control him the way you did me. He's done good for himself, so let them be. I don't like that she's a Weasley anymore then you do, but the war is over." Lucius scowled at his son.

"What has happened to you Draco! I knew I should have never let you marry that woman, you've gone soft."

"Good night father." Draco spat as he stormed out of the room.

* * *

Scorpius found Rose in the library sitting on one of the large sofas buried in one of the many thick books that the library contained.

"Hey." He said to her softly as he sunk into the couch beside her, slinging his arm over the back of the couch and pulling one leg up so he was facing her. Rose put down the book she had been reading and turned to mirror Scorpius' position, though she kept both of her hands folded in her lap.

"I heard your grandfather earlier, in the drawing room." Rose said quietly, avoiding his eyes.

"Oh," Scorpius sighed "I'm sorry about him Rosie."

"Thank you." She said, glancing up at him from under her eyelashes.

"What?" Scorpius gave her a confused look.

"For what you said to him. Thank you." This time she looked straight at him, meeting his soft grey eyes.

"Oh, you uh, heard that part." Scorpius ran his hand through his already messy hair and then he froze, eyes going wide. She couldn't have heard his little confession, could she of?

"Yeah." She said shyly. "Thanks for defending me." Rose leaned forwards and kissed him softly on the cheek. He smiled at her, a slight expression of relief in his stormy eyes.

"Anytime Rosie, anytime." Rose picked up her book again studying the blonde for a moment before scooting closer to him on the sofa and resting her head on his shoulder before beginning to read. Her action surprised him for a second, but he quickly relaxed into the intimate position, sitting contently lightly stroking her side as she read. After a few moments, he felt his eyes growing heavy and he fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Scorpius awoke the next morning with a sore neck and a soft weight on his right shoulder. He blinked a few times, glancing at the red head who was curled up against him, the book she had been reading the night before laying carelessly on the ground. He glanced at his watch, it was five in the morning. "Rosie." He whispered into her ear, shaking her slightly to wake her.

"Scorp?" She moaned, and he swallowed hard. She blinked open her chocolate brown eyes, meeting his own grey ones.

"Sorry to wake you princess, but we fell asleep in the library. We need to go to our rooms before someone finds us." Scorpius said softly.

Rose nodded and reluctantly stood up, immediately missing the warmth that her best friend had been providing for her. Scorpius wrapped an arm around her shoulders as the pair went back to their rooms. Scorpius escorted Rose to her door, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead before bidding her goodnight. "Scorp?"

Scorpius turned back to face her. "Yeah Rosie?"

"Don't ever call me princess again." Scorpius couldn't help but chuckle and his friend.

"Night princess." Rose rolled her eyes as she closed her door with a soft click. Scorpius closed his bedroom door behind him and climbed into his four poster bed but he was unable to sleep. His thoughts were occupied by a certain red head occupying the room a few feet away from him. He sighed softly, turning over in his bed. He drifted off into a restless sleep trying to figure out what he was going to do about his situation with Rose.

* * *

The rest of the two weeks that Rose spent with the Malfoy's was surprisingly uneventful. Lucius had laid off about her family, though she suspected that Astoria and Narcissa had something to do with that for she had barley seen the former death eater at all. The pair had spent a wonderful day together in Diagon Alley getting their school supplies and just enjoying the others company. She had also spent the day with Astoria's parents and sister, meeting Scorpius' two cousins. One was a first year Ravenclaw, who Rose recognized from school, the other a third year Hufflepuff. Rose found herself enjoying her time with Scorpius' family and noticed her best friend seemed more relaxed and happy over the past few weeks then she had seen in a long time. The two weeks flew by extremely quickly, and before they knew it, the pair was once again boarding the Hogwarts express heading back to the castle for their sixth year.


	25. Pressure

**Chapter 25- Pressure**

**Disclaimer: ** Don't Own.

**AN:** **Hey everyone, I know it's been a while but it's midterm/essay season and it's just a crazy time of the year. Anyways thanks to all of you have have stuck with me so far. I think I'm expecting about 10 more chapters in the story, maybe 15, we'll see how many it takes me to wrap this up. Anyways on to the chapter now. Please Read and Review! I love your feedback :D**

**-SM**

Rose walked down the corridor of the Hogwarts express looking for the compartment that held her best friends. She had just completed her prefect rounds and she couldn't wait to catch up with her friends. She had seen Scorpius breiefly at the prefects meeting, but had been paired with one of the Slytherin prefects for rounds.

"Charlotte!" Rose exclaimed as she burst into the compartment where Charlotte was sitting with Al and Scorpius. Rose enveloped the dark haired girl it a forceful hug. She had spent some time at Charlotte's house in Muggle London at the very beginning of the summer, but they hadn't seen each other since. Rose had been at Malfoy Manor when Charlotte had visited Al at the end of the summer.

"Hey Ro, how are you?" Charlotte asked returning the red-heads enthusiastic embrace.

"Marvelous. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts." Rose said excitedly as she plopped down onto the seat beside Scorpius, throwing her arm across his shoulders and giving him a side hug, which he returned.

"It's going to be such a busy year." He said. "Especially with you being Quidditch Captain."

"Yeah…"

"Come on Rosie, we've been over this. You're going to be a great captain." Scorpius told her for the hundredth time since she got the badge.

"I still think that you would have been a better choice."

"Nonsense Rosie, we both know that Jenkins made the right choice." Scorpius gave her a reassuring smile before pulling her into another side hug.

"Congratulations Ro! This is going to be an interesting year with the pair of you as Captains." Charlotte said gesturing between the two cousins. "Now, what NEWTS are you lot taking?" She elbowed Al in the side when he mumbled something about Ravenclaws under his breath.

"Ow, Charlotte that bloody hurt!" She smiled innocently at her boyfriend, who scowled.

"Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology." Rose listed off.

"That's a lot Rose." Al told his cousin. "I'm dropping Divination, Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures."

"It's nothing that I can't handle." Rose said. "Besides, Scop's taking ten NEWTS too."

"I'm dropping Divination too. It's complete rubbish, I'm also dropping Muggle Studies, I mean I'm Muggle born, it's kind of redundant." Charlotte said.

"You Ravenclaws are too smart for your own bloody good." Al said, earning another shove in the ribs from his girlfriend. "Ow!" The other three laughed as Al scowled mumbling something about needing to spend more time with his own house.

* * *

The rest of the ride to Hogsmeade station was spent sharing stories about their summer, plans for the year and in Al's case finishing up the last of his summer work before they returned to Hogwarts. Al and Rose's brother Hugo already had plans of becoming the school's newest Potter-Weasley Prankster team since Fred and James had graduated. Before long the train came to a halt and Hagrid was calling out to the first years to follow him while the rest of the students boarded the carriages and began their journey to the castle. The Headmistress gave the usual welcoming speech and the first years were sorted, Gryffindor gaining the most new students with Slytherin as a close second. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had gained a fair number as well.

"Charlotte, I think that you should consider trying out for the Quidditch team this year." Rose said as she sat at the Ravenclaw table with Scorpius and Charlotte.

"Ro, I've barely ever played. I'm not very good…" The raven haired girl stated.

"Are you mental? You may not have as much experience as others but Char, you're one of the best Chasers I've ever seen. You fly circles around my cousins who have been playing since they were old enough to ride a broom stick. Think about it Char."

"We'll see."

* * *

"Remind me why am I taking ten NEWTS again?" Scorpius said flopping down beside Charlotte and Al on the sofa by the fire in the Ravenclaw common room. "How does she do it?" Al and Charlotte laughed.

"She's the daughter of Hermione Granger, she's always thrived under pressure. My father may have been the Chosen One, but Rosie's always had so much expected of her." Scorpius gave the green eyed boy a look. "Everyone expects her to be brilliant and funny, super organized, good at everything she does, a know it all, great at Quidditch, pretty much she's expected to be perfect. You know the only reason she even plays Quidditch is because of her father? I mean she enjoys it now, but flying used to terrify her. She only started playing because of Uncle Ron. You know the first time she ever went against her father's wishes was when she befriended you, my father said that he thought Uncle Ron was going to have an aneurysm when he found out." Scorpius blinked, the last bit he had already been quite aware of, remembering the howler Rose had received when her father had found out that he was her friend.

"But she's always seemed to love Quidditch so much. The first conversation I ever had with her was about Quidditch on the train in first year. She's always been good at everything." He said, still shocked from what Al had told him.

"That's Rosie for you. Never met a challenge she couldn't overcome… well sort of." Scorpius cocked his eyebrow at Albus, but didn't question farther knowing that Al wasn't going to elaborate on that point.

"What are you doing here anyways Potter. People are going to start forgetting that you're in Gryffindor with the amount of time you spend here." Al glared at the blonde. "Where is Rosie anyways?"

"Re-writing her tryout schedule for the hundredth time. She wants everything to be perfect for tomorrow." Charlotte told the boys.

"Are you trying out Char?" Scorpius asked.

"What?" Al looked between the two Ravenclaws, a confused expression on his face.

"Rosie asked Charlotte to tryout for the team." Scorpius said simply.

"I don't know. I mean I'm really not very good."

"Char you have to!" Al exclaimed energetically. "You know that Rosie wouldn't have suggested it if she didn't think that you could do it." Al said.

"I don't know you guys…" Charlotte said before turning towards Scorpius with a wicked grin on her face. "So, what are you going to do about- Hi Rose"

"Hey guys," Rose looked at them suspiciously, "What are you lot on about?" Rose said coming up behind the group.

"Oh, uh, not much. Charlotte here was just telling Malfoy and I about how she was going to try out for Quidditch tomorrow." Al told his cousin.

"That's wonderful Charlotte, you're going to be absolutely brilliant, I just know it." Rose exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement.

"That's not exactly-" Charlotte looked up at the excited expression on the red-heads face and caved. "Oh alright."

* * *

Rose walked onto the pitch at 10:30 the next morning. She looked out over the faces of the candidates. She had a long day ahead of her due to the many open positions she had to fill since along with herself, only Scorpius and White would be returning to the team. She needed two beaters, a keeper and another chaser to fill the team. She decided that she would try out the Chasers first since there were only four hopefuls, including Charlotte.

Rose took her perspective chasers up into the air and began running drills with them. All four were quite talented, but Charlotte came out on top in the shoot outs and Rose couldn't be more proud of her friend. It took more then four grueling hours of tryouts before Rose had her team. Charlotte filled in the third Chaser position, the two beater positions were filled by David Spooner and Ross Logan both in seventh year and their keeper position was filled by fellow sixth year Dominic Bailey.

"For someone who doesn't think they'd make a good captain, you're sure doing a great job so far." Scorpius told her causing her to look up at him where he was leaning against the lockers. " I told you you'd be brilliant."

Rose smiled weakly as he came and sat beside her on the bench. "I don't know Scorp, that was just tryouts. I don't know if I can do it."

"Sure you can Rosie, you can do anything you put your mind to." He slung an arm over her shoulders, pulling her to him. "Plus, I'm always here if you need some help." He smiled at her widely and she let her head fall onto his shoulder.

"Thanks Scorp. You're the best friend a girl could ever ask for."

Friend. That word always stung when it came from her. This was getting ridiculous. He'd been in love with her for two years and she had shown no interest in him other then friendship. Over the years she had gone out with other guys, had a boyfriend even. Sure Nott had been a right git, but he had still been her boyfriend. Scorpius sighed, it was time for him to move on, and not with Violet Finnigan. He made the descision right then, he was going to stop pining after the girl who would never see him as more then just the best friend. Rose wanted friendship and he was going to give it to her, but he needed to put his other feelings for her aside and start over.

"Scorp? You alright?" She looked up at him with her big brown eyes. "You look kind of dazed."

"Uh, I'm fine Rosie, just you know thinking about stuff." He said.

"What kind of stuff?"

"You know just lessons and such." Rose didn't look convinced.

"Right, sure you were. Anyways lets go find Al and Charlotte and see if they're up for a game of exploding snap by the lake."

Rose hopped up and closed her locker and Scorpius followed her out of the locker room. He loved the way that her hair shone in the sunlight. She had turned into such a beautiful girl over the years. She was smart and funny and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Getting over her was going to be a lot easier said then done.


	26. Irrational Hatred of Birds

**Chapter 26: Irrational Hatred of Birds**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own.

**AN: Hey everyone. I'm procrastinating an essay, which is good for you guy because that means you get another chapter before I get super busy for the next two weeks. Oh how mid-terms suck big time. But reading week is in two weeks so hopefully after my last exam on the 16****th**** I'll have some time to do some more writing. Until then enjoy, read and review please.**

**-SM**

Rose sat at the Ravenclaw table on the last Saturday in September pushing her eggs around on her plate. Rose had permanently been in an irritable state for the past week and it had absolutely nothing to do with her best friends new girlfriend. Nothing at all, or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

The girl was nothing short of perfect in every single way. She was tall with short golden blond hair that she styled into a pixie cut with bright blue eyes that matched the colour of the ocean. She was beautiful, fit and incredibly intelligent, a Hufflepuff to the core she was kind and loyal and head girl to boot. As much as Rose tried, she couldn't find a single thing about the girl that she disliked unless you included the fact that she was dating the boy who Rose had been in love with for the past two and a half years well and her name. Robin Sparrow. What sort of name was that? Named after bloody birds, an animal which Rose found herself strongly disliking as of late, though it had nothing to do with Robin, yeah nothing at all, it was jut utterly ridiculous. At least with Violet, Rose had something to dislike. Violet was easily the most irritating person she knew and that included James Potter and her younger brother. With Robin, the only thing she had was an irrational aversion to avian creatures. Rose pushed away her uneaten breakfast, and with one look at the Hufflepuff table she stood up and headed to the library to get a head start on next weeks essays.

"Rose Weasley?" Rose looked up from her half finished charms essay and met the bright blue eyes of her best friends girlfriend.

"Uh, yeah. Robin right?" Being a prefect, Rose had met Robin before, but this was completely different.

"You're Scorpius' best friend." She stated simply. "I figured that since you're such an important part of his life that I should get to know you better. I noticed that you left the great hall early this morning and didn't leave for Hogsmeade with everyone else. I was wondering if you'd maybe be up for a little bit of shopping in the village so we can get better acquainted. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other now and I know how important your friendship is to him so what do you say? You fancy a trip to Hogsmeade?" Rose sighed, Robin just had to be the nicest person on the face of the entire bloody planet.

"Sure Robin. That sounds lovely." Rose reluctantly agreed, telling herself that this was for Scorpius. He deserved to be happy, and Robin was perfect for him. Rose quickly packed up her books and the two girls left the library. Rose dropped her books off in her dorm before the pair headed off to the village for the afternoon.

Throughout the course of the day, Rose found that the more she got to know Robin, the more she liked her, which made things a whole lot more complicated then they were before. Rose found that she had so much in common with Robin and the pair never ran out of things to talk about. By the time that they had returned to the castle, Rose found that the only thing that she could hate about Robin, was that there was nothing she could find to hate about her. The pair was so similar that it was scary. They shared everything from their love of Muggle literature, to their views on oppression of Magical Beings, the two girls were the same in almost every way.

By the time supper rolled around Rose bid Robin goodbye before heading to the Ravenclaw table finding that she actually wanted to become friends with the girl that she had been so determined to hate.

* * *

Charlotte and Al sat across from Scorpius and Robin the next afternoon in the library. Rose was off preparing for that afternoon's Quidditch practice since she had already finished her essays for the net two weeks. "I cannot believe that you left your essays until the last minute." Robin scolded her boyfriend of three weeks. "School is incredibly important and you really should take your studies more seriously. Perhaps I should make you a study schedule to ensure that you stay on track. You're in NEWT level classes now, it is very important that you take this seriously, these next two years are a vital determining factor in your future, you mustn't forget that. Now, if you'll all excuse me I'm going to be late for my heads meeting. I expect you to be finished at least a rough draft of that before Quidditch practice." Robin leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips before leaving the three sixth years as Al and Charlotte sat their smirking at one another.

"What?" Asked Scorpius.

"Oh, nothing." Charlotte responded.

"It's just doesn't Robin sort of remind you of a certain red-haired, hazel eyed Ravenclaw who we all know and love." Al said.

"I have no idea what you're on about." The blonde insisted and the couple looked at their friend with raised eyebrows.

"Oh come on Malfoy, they're practically the same person. They're both brilliant, athletic, beautiful, Quidditch captain for their respective houses, top of their years, come on Malfoy I know you're not that thick. Since you don't have the balls to tell Rose how you feel, you start dating someone who is exactly like her. That's no way to go about getting over her, nor is it fair to Robin." Charlotte said matter-of-factly.

"They're completely different." Scorpius protested.

"Name five ways, and I'm not talking hair colour here." Al tossed back.

"Robin's a Hufflepuff." Scorpius was reaching and he knew it. "She plays keeper." That one earned him a raised eyebrow from each of his friends. "They're not the same!" Al and Charlotte laughed and the blonde's frustration.

"Thanks you guys. You're the best." Scorpius told his friends sarcastically. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go over there and actually do some work." Scorpius stood up and left a laughing Albus and Charlotte and went to sit at an empty table a few feet away.

"They're completely different." Scorpius told himself. "Aren't they?"

* * *

"Scorp!" Rose yelled at him. "What the bloody hell is with you today?" To say that Scorpius was having a rough practice was an understatement. "We play Gryffindor next week, I'm not about to let Al end our winning streak, now snap out of it."

Scorpius shook his head, unable to get Al and Charlotte's words out of his head. He was so distracted that he almost didn't see the bludger that was headed his was, having ducked just in time due to Charlotte calling out to him.

When practice concluded, Rose pulled Scorpius aside as the rest of the team headed to the locker room. "Is everything alright Scorp? You were pretty distracted during practice." She said in a concerned tone.

"It's nothing Rosie." She gave him a skeptical look. "Really Rosie, it's nothing you need to worry your pretty head about."

"You know you can tell me anything, right Scorp?" She told him softly, gently squeezing one of his hands with her own.

"Really Rosie, it's nothing, I promise." He smiled at her softly, squeezing her hand in return. Rose looked at him skeptically for another moment before turning and headed towards the locker room, Scorpius catching up to her quickly.

"So Scorp, you finish your essay yet?" She asked him as they made their way up to the lockers. He said nothing. "Scorpius!" She exclaimed, coming to a halt in front of him. "How could you be so irresponsible? You are in NEWT classes now and these next two years are vital to your future success. You must make your studies your top priority. When we get back to the common room I'm making you a study schedule." With that Rose spun on her heel and once again began heading to the lockers. Scorpius stood there dumbfounded for a moment, having heard almost the exact same speech from his girlfriend only an hour before practice, before he turned and followed her, cursing Albus Potter for always being right.

* * *

Scorpius slumped onto the bench across from Al and Charlotte at supper that evening. "Why the bloody hell are you always right." He asked Al as he raked his hand through his messy blonde hair. Al smirked.

"I'm just observant, that's all." The mini Harry replied.

"Al you're just about as observant as a blind hippogriff." Rose said, coming up behind her cousin, causing him to jump before she rounded the table and sat beside her best friend.

"You're one to talk." Al muttered under his breath so only Charlotte could hear him. Rose raised an eyebrow, but let it slide.

"Where have you been?" Scorpius asked her. Rose reached into her bag which she had placed at her feet and extracted a crisp piece of parchment, covered in her neat scrawl.

"Robin and I made this for you. She really is quite a lovely girl, the pair of us have so much in common." Al choked on his pumpkin juice and Charlotte laughed as Scorpius' expression changed to resemble that of a fish out of water.

"You and Robin?" Scorpius managed to choke out. Rose nodded.

"We decided to become better acquainted since you're dating her and all." Scorpius quickly excused himself and headed over to the Hufflepuff table where Robin was sitting with some of her friends.

"You and _Robin_?" Charlotte repeated. "Since when are you two friends?"

"It's impossible not to like that girl. The only thing I can find to dislike about her is the fact that I can't finds anything to dislike about her. The two of us get along marvelously. Why couldn't he be dating Goyle or something, at least then I could hate her. Robin is perfect." Rose rested her chin on her hands. "So I figured, if I can't hate her, I may as well get to know her." Al and Charlotte each raised an eyebrow at her. "I know it sounds strange, but I actually like her."

"I supposed that would make sense. I mean you two are practically the same person." Al told his cousin.

"Oh come off it Al, we are completely different, sure we have a fair few things in common, but that doesn't mean we're the same person."

"Right, come on Rose, you must see what's going on here." Al said exasperated at his cousin's continuing oblivious nature.

"Al, what the bloody hell are you on about?" Rose asked and Al threw his arms in the air in frustration.

"You know what, I give up! You are hopeless Rose, completely hopeless!" Al exclaimed before giving Charlotte a kiss and leaving the great hall mumbling incoherently under his breath.

"Well isn't he just a little overdramatic today." Rose said. "What was that all about?"

Charlotte shook her head as she saw her friend glancing at Robin and Scorpius who were seated at the Hufflepuff table. For the two smartest students in the school, the pair of them were quite possibly the thickest people that she knew, including Al's brother James and her three Muggle brothers. Charlotte let out a sigh of frustration. "Nothing Ro, nothing at all."

* * *

Rose was a bundle of nerves at breakfast on the morning of the Quidditch season opener. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were to be going head to head in the first Quidditch game of the season. Rose sat at the table with the rest of the team, just pushing her food around on her plate, finding that she didn't have much of an appetite.

"Rosie, you need to eat something. The match is in an hour, we can't have our captain fainting in the middle of the pitch." Scorpius told her, picking up a piece of toast with honey and holding it out to her.

"I'll be fine Scorp." She told him. "I'm just nervous." He gave her a pointed look and she took the toast from him and bit into it.

"Satisfied?" She said, glaring at him and he smirked causing her to stick her tongue out at him and he returned the childish gesture before the group lapsed into conversation about the upcoming match.

* * *

Al Potter sat on his broom, hovering above the Quidditch pitch searching for the little golden snitch. The game had been going on for about an hour now and much to his displeasure, Gryffindor had yet to score a point, not for the lack of trying mind you. Ravenclaw was currently winning 120-0 and there was no way that Al was about to let Rose beat him at something else. He loved his cousin, but it drove him crazy how she was good at everything, and she knew it. As nice as Rose was, she was also cocky and overconfident about everything she did because she expected to be the best at everything, and she usually was. Not this time, it was time that she had a bit of an ego check, and Al was going to win this match and prove to her that he was better then her at something.

He had to had it to Rose, he team was brilliant and having a keeper that was 6'5 and solid muscle didn't hurt, but that wasn't going to stop him from winning. White was good, but Al was confident that he was better. Al scanned the field once again, only this time he caught a tiny glint of gold near the Gryffindoor goal post and he zoomed off towards it with White not too far behind him.

The two seekers dove for the little golden ball, propelling themselves faster and faster. White gained on Al incredibly quickly and soon the two boys were neck in neck. Both extended their hand forwards grasping for the little golden ball and seconds later a set of long slender fingers grasped the snitch and the crowd erupted into cheers.

**AN: I know I'm evil. Who caught the snitch? Al or White? Stay tuned to find out (I know that was cheesy but it's 2:30am give me a break) Anyways Review Please :D**


	27. Reality Check

**Chapter 27: Reality Check **

**Disclaimer:** Don't own

**AN: Hey eveyrone. I'm almost done actually writing this story, only eight more chapters to go after this one. Anyways, hope you like this chapter, I'm going to try and update as much as possible, but I'm heading into essay crunch time so we'll see how long it actually takes to get it finished. Please Read and Review :)**

**-SM**

Rose gripped her broom forcefully as she sped towards the Ravenclaw goal, chasing her cousin Lily who was currently in possession of the Quaffle. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the two seekers begin to dive after a little golden speck. The two seekers dove towards the ground neck in neck as they followed the little golden snitch as Dominic Bailey, the Ravenclaw keeper, easily blocked Lily's well aimed shot. Seconds later, the crowd erupted into cheers, which could only mean one thing; someone had caught the snitch. Rose looked toward the ground as the announcer, Mika Longbottom, spoke the words that caused her stomach to plummet. Gryffindor had won, her cousin had caught the snitch.

Rose descended to the pitch. She had lost, her first game as captain and she had lead her house to their first loss in six years, something that she couldn't help but feel awful about. As Rose dismounted her broom and made her way toward the rest of her team, Albus intercepted her.

"Looks like we've finally found something that you aren't good at." Al boasted.

"Sod off Al." She was not in the mood for Al's boasting. Sometimes he was way too much like his brother for her liking.

"Don't be a sore loser Rosie. You were bound to discover that there was something that you would fail at, you can't be good at everything. Too bad for you it seems that the thing you suck at is leading a Quidditch team. Let's just face it Rose. I'm a better Captain then you are. Looks like Gryffindor is going to have a good year." Al smiled triumphantly and Rose stalked away, telling her team to hit the showers.

"Rose-"

"I'm fine Scorp." She said harshly before taking a deep breath. She place her hand softly on his chest as she looked up meeting his eyes. "I'm fine, really Scorp. I promise." Scorpius looked at her skeptically before following her to the locker room.

As Rose entered the locker room, the mood was solemn and subdued. No one really knew how to react, they were so used to winning, that losing had never really crossed any of their minds.

"This is all my fault." White exclaimed, breaking the silence. "I should have been faster, fought harder. I-"

"It's not your fault Jacob." Rose said cutting him off. "Don't blame yourself. Each and every one of you played very well. We scored 100 points total and Dominic didn't let a single shot in." She turned to the young seeker. "You played brilliantly Jacob, don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. It was so close, it was just luck that Al caught the snitch before you, it could have gone either way." Rose plastered on a fake, reassuring smile as most of the team bought her speech, but one glance at her best friend told her that he hadn't. She knew just by meeting his steely eyes that he knew she was blaming herself for the loss, no matter how well she played the reassuring captain role. She had a funny feeling that Charlotte probably hadn't bought it either, the black haired girl could read her almost as well as Scorpius could. Rose sat down on the bench in front of the lockers as everyone except Scorpius filed out of the locker room.

"Don't worry Scorp. I'm fine really." He raised an eyebrow at her, pushing a piece of platinum blonde hair out of his eyes. "I promise. You don't need to worry about me Scorp, I'll see you later. Robin is probably looking for you, you shouldn't keep her waiting." Scorpius looked at her skeptically once again. "I'm fine. I just need some time alone. Go, find your girlfriend, I'll see you at supper." Scorpius hesitated for a moment before approaching his best friend where she sat on the hard wooden bench in the locker room. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it softly and she looked up at him.

"It's not your fault Rosie." He put a finger to her lips as she tried to protest. "I know you Rosie. I know you're blaming yourself but it's not your fault." With that the blonde left her, knowing that she wanted to be alone to think about everything and went to find Robin, who as Rose had said, probably was looking for him. Scorpius sighed. Robin. She was beautiful, brilliant, athletic, who was he kidding, the girl was exactly like Rose in so many ways, but she just wasn't Rose. Scorpius stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked towards the castle trying to figure out what he was going to do.

* * *

Rose pulled her cloak tighter around her as she made her way toward the clearing in the forest where the Threstals were. It had been a while since she had been out here, she had almost forgotten how comforting she found these strange misfit creatures. She bent down, petting one of the babies that had come up to her, as she felt tears burning behind her eyes. It was stupid really. She knew that she shouldn't take Al seriously, but she just couldn't shake what he had said to her. She had never failed at anything before in her life which made failing at leading her team to victory in her first game as captain that much harder. She had lost her first Quidditch game since being at Hogwarts and she couldn't help but feel that if she had just pushed her team harder, practiced longer, then maybe they would have won the match. She let out a frustrated sigh for the hundredth time since the match. Who was she kidding, maybe she just wasn't cut out to be captain, this game had proven that. It didn't matter how many times Scorpius told her that it wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but blame herself.

"Rose? Is that yur there?" A gruff voice said behind her. "Wud er you doin' out 'ere? You're gonna catch a cold you are."

She turned around to face the half giant who was headed in her direction. Hagrid didn't look all that much different from the pictures that her parents had from their Hogwarts days. His beard was grayer and he had a few more wrinkles, but all things considered, the years had been kind to him.

"I'm just thinking." She told him. "I find them comforting."

Hagrid smiled at the young red-head, she was so much like her parents sometimes. "Why don't yeh come join me fer a cup a tea?" He asked her. Rose looked up at him an nodded as she followed him into his hut, sitting on one of the large arm chairs by the fire. She heard a kettle whistle and moments later Hagrid handed her a large cup of tea. "You aren't still thinking about that there match ares yeh?" Hagrid asked her, taking a seat on the sofa. Rose let out a soft sigh before answering him.

"I can't help it Hagrid." The young Weasley exclaimed. "If I'd only trained more we would have won. Maybe Al's right, I'm a failure as a captain."

"Oh come off it Rose. Al don't know what he's talkin about now does he? Yur team played just fine today Rosie, yur cousin just got lucky that's all. Cheer up Rosie, you'll get 'im next time." Rose laughed

"You sound just like Scorpius." She told him, smiling and Hagrid chuckled. There was a time where he would have been offended to be compared to a Malfoy, but he'd come to be quite fond of Scorpius.

"Well, I think young Mr. Malfoy may be on to something." He told her raising his overly bushy eyebrows and leaning towards her. "Where is the little ferret anyways?" He asked, causing Rose to laugh at the little endearment.

"He's with Robin." Rose couldn't help the slight bitterness in her tone at the mention of the older girls name. It didn't matter how much Rose liked Robin, she was still dating the boy Rose had been in love with for years.

"Oh dear." Hagrid said, examining the sad expression that graced Rose's features. "So much like yur parents you are Rosie." He had lost track of the number of times that her parents and uncle had sat across from him in the same manner. Rose raised an eyebrow at him and he couldn't help but smile. Outside of her dark red hair, Rose looked exactly like her mother. "It seems like just yesterday that yur mum sat there on that vary chair having a cup a tea with this big oaf, while a certain red-haired best friend of hers was off with his girlfriend." Rose looked up meeting Hagrid's eyes.

"What?" Rose asked him, eyes wide.

"You see 'ere Rose, when yur parents were yur age, yur father started seeing Lavender Brown." Rose couldn't help but smile at the disdain in Hagrid's tone when mentioning Violet's mother. "Yur mum came down here a lot she did. It just 'bout broke me heart to see her like that. You see here Rosie, these thing tend to have ways of working themselves out, just take a look at yur parents, and yur aunt and uncle. As for Quidditch, don't worry 'bout what yur cousin says, you'll get 'im next time. Now where's that pretty smile of yurs?" Rose couldn't help but smile at the hald giant, he always had a way of making her feel better. "Come 'ere Rose." Hagrid enveloped her into a giant bear hug.

"Thanks Hagrid."

* * *

Scorpius sat with Robin in the library with his long abandoned potions essay sitting on the table in front of him. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he had left Rose on her own to go off with Robin. Rose had looked so sad after losing the game, and he knew that she was still blaming herself for the loss of the match, it didn't matter what he or anyone else told her. As much as she had insisted on being left alone, he should have stayed with her to make sure that she was okay. According to Charlotte, who had currently locked herself in the sixth year girls dorms, Al had said something to her after the match, and he had no doubt that whatever it was that was said had probably made Rose feel even worse. Usually she wouldn't take things like that seriously, but when it came to Al, she trusted what he said to a fault. He let out a loud sigh of frustration, causing Robin to put down her quill.

"Just go." She told him, looking up to meet his eyes. "We both know that you need to be with her right now. I'm not stupid Scorpius, I know she needs you, now go." He looked at Robin, feeling torn at what to do.

"Are you sure? I mean-" She placed a finger to his lips silencing him.

"Just go." Without another word, Scorpius leaned over and kissed his girlfriend softly before packing up his things and going to find Rose.

* * *

Robin watched as her boyfriend as he left the library to find Rose. She liked Rose, she really did, but the more she got to know the young red-head, the more she couldn't help but feel like a substitute. She was neither stupid nor blind, she could see how the pair looked at each other and she couldn't help but feel as though she was standing in the way of something. Robin sighed, Scorpius was a great guy, a really great boyfriend but lately she thought that they'd be better off as friends. She'd always heard rumours about the two friends having feelings for each other, but she had never put much stock in gossip, but now she was starting to think that this time, they may have been on to something. Every time that she mustered up the courage, he'd do something so sweet and she just couldn't bring herself to do it. This was the reason she was a Hufflepuff, not a Gryffindor. It wasn't fair to her, or Scorpius or Rose for that matter, but she really did enjoy being with Scorpius just because he was so sweet, but she needed to stop pretending. She deserved to be with someone who liked her for her and not because she reminded him of someone else.

* * *

Scorpius made his way down towards the forest clearing behind Hagrid's where the Threstals lived as the sun set over the castle. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself in an attempt to cut the cool evening air. He had looked for Rose everywhere, this was the last place he could think to check. He remembered her love for the strange little creatures that inhabited the clearing, figuring that this would be the place to find her, in fact it probably should have been the first place he checked. He neared Hagrid's hut just as the door creaked open and his best friend stepped out.

"Thanks Hagrid, for everything." She said as she closed the door behind her and started towards the castle almost running into him as she did.

"Woah, Rosie, slow down." He said and her head snapped up and she met his eyes.

"Scorp?" She questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you of course. I was worried about you. I've been searching for you all bloody afternoon. Do you know how large the castle is? It's even larger then it looks." Rose smiled softly.

"What about Robin?" She asked.

"She told me to go find you. Apparently I was overly distracted." Rose chuckled at this, laying her hand softly on his chest as she had after the Quidditch match.

"Oh Scorp, you have so much to learn." She said. "Just because Robin told you to leave, didn't mean that she actually wanted you to leave."

Scorpius distorted his face into one of confusion causing Rose to laugh again. "Women, bloody confusing, the lot of you. Why can't you just say what you mean for Merlin's sake." Rose smiled at her friends frustration as they made their way towards the castle.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked once again as they climbed the stairs to Ravenclaw tower.

"Yeah. I talked to Hagrid about everything. I feel loads better now. He made me see that Al was just caught in the moment, I was silly to listen to him." Scorpius smiled sadly, wishing that it had been him that she had talked to, but that was his own fault.

"That's good. What did Al say to you anyways? Charlotte has been avoiding him all afternoon, so it must have been bad."

"It was nothing, really. I was being stupid. I'm going to see Charlotte and remind her that Al isn't a horrible person. Meet you for patrol in an hour?"

"Rosie." He said in a warning tone. "It had to be something to get you that upset. I know how much you value Al's opinion of yourself." He smiled at her. "Plus, you could never be stupid. I'll see you in an hour." Rose smiled at him, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his cheek before making her way up to the sixth year girls dorms.

Scorpius turned and began making his way towards Gryffindor tower to have a conversation with Albus. He needed to know what it was that made Rose so upset. He approached the portrait of the fat lady, hoping it wouldn't be long until someone came along and allowed him access to the common room. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long, for Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley came up the stairs, arms laden with books not five minutes later.

"Malfoy?" Hugo asked. "Is Rosie alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Well she is now. Where's Al?" He asked, speaking the raven haired boys name with a certain venom to it.

"What did my prat of a brother do this time?" Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"He said something to Rosie after the match. She was pretty upset, you know how much Al's opinion means to her." Scorpius told the two fourth years.

"Prat." Lily said under her breath. "Whomping Willow." she spoke the password and lead the three of them into the common room. "Albus Severus, you have a visitor." Lily told her brother, coming up behind him where he sat on the sofa.

"Lily! How many times- uh, hi Malfoy, what brings you to our lovely tower this evening." He swallowed hard, taking in the expression on the blondes face. Scorpius did not look happy and Al let out a nervous laugh.

"What did you say to Rose?" Scorpius said, deadpan, and Al gulped once again.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Al stuttered and Scorpius narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor captain.

"I think you know exactly what I mean. Rose has been moping at Hagrid's all day, blaming herself for losing the match, telling herself that she's a terrible captain, a failure, and we both know that it isn't true. Now where do you think she got an idea like that?" Scorpius demanded as Al turned as white as a ghost.

"Uh, I may have said a few choice things." Al said and Scorpius took a step towards him, narrowing his eyes in a manner that would have sent chills down even his grandfathers spine. "Oh come on Malfoy, it was heat of the moment, I just beat miss good-at-every-bloody-thing-she-bloody-does at something for the first time in my entire life. I didn't mean it, honest."

"Al!" Hugo piped up. "You know how Rose is. She takes everything you say seriously. My sister isn't used to losing, you should have known she'd take it badly."

Al sighed, knowing that Hugo was right, when it came to Quidditch, Rose took everything seriously.

"You're such a ruddy prat Al." Lily told him.

"I'm sorry! Blimey you lot! I'm sorry she took what I said the wrong way but bloody hell you must know that I didn't mean it. She's okay, right?"

"She is now. Hagrid managed to make her see that you didn't mean it. She's off with Charlotte now convincing her that you're not a horrible person." Scorpius told him.

"So that- oh" Al said as they came to the realization as to why his girlfriend had been avoiding him all day. "I'm an idiot."

"No argument there." Scorpius said, flashing the infamous Malfoy smirk at his friend. "Now if you'll excuse me I don't want to be late for rounds. We all know how Rose gets when she's angry" He took one last look over his shoulder at a very pale Al as he left Gryffindor tower laughing.


	28. Finding Courage and Surprising Secrets

**Chapter 28: Finding Courage & Surprising Secrets**

**Disclaimer: ** Don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone, I know two days in a row right? I really need to stop posting Chapters at 4am like I did with the last one. Anyways, this chapters is where the T rating comes in quite strongly, it's a little different then anything I've tried before so bare with me. Oh and the Quidditch thing, the way that I'm working it is that each team plays each other twice during the school year and then the two teams with the most wins face off in the finals. Anyways, please please read and review! Cheers!**

**-SM**

"How are things with Robin?" Rose asked as she sat beside Scorpius in their Potions class on a Friday afternoon. Al had long since apologized about the incident and Rose had taken to even more rigorous practices that had the entire team practically begging for Jenkins to return. Their hard work had however, paid off as Ravenclaw had not only slaughtered both Hufflepuff and Slytherin but were also confident that the Gryffindor would meet a similar fate once the teams faced off again after the holidays.

Rose, Hugo, Al and Lily would be spending the holidays at Hogwarts this year and were pleased to find out that Scorpius would be remaining as well and Charlotte had finally convinced her parents to let her do the same. Her muggle parents and four older brothers weren't to please at first when she had expressed her desire to spend the holidays in the castle, but had relented at last. The holidays were only a day away, making their Friday afternoon double potions class even more restless then usual.

"Fine." Scorpius replied.

"Fine. That's it. Just fine?" Rose raised an eyebrow as she added eye of newt to her cauldron stirring seven times counterclockwise before adding the lace-wing flies and watching her mixture turn the exact shade of deep purple that it was supposed to.

"Yeah. We're meeting after class to exchange gifts before she goes home for the holidays." He told her as his potion turned a similar shade as Rose's.

"Bloody Hell!" Exclaimed Al as his potion began bubbling and turned an angry shade of red.

"I told you! You're supposed to stir before you add the flies!" Exclaimed Charlotte, smiling victoriously at her boyfriend. A loud crack was heard in the back of the room, followed by a high pitched scream and laughter as the entire class turned to look at a Violet Finnigan, who was currently covered in green sludge, steam rising from her cauldron. How she had managed to make it into NEWT level potions, no one would ever know, seeing as she had inherited her fathers nack for potions.

"That's it for today, please submit a vial of your potion for grading." Professor Dira told her students, tossing her waist length hair over her shoulder, a smile gracing her pretty features as she did so. Professor Aydan Dira was a favourite professor at the school. At only 25, she was the best potions master that Hogwarts had seen since Snape and Slughorn had been at the school, and the youngest head of house in Hogwarts History, having taken over the position of Ravenclaw head of house when Flitwick had finally retired the previous year. She had began at Hogwarts when Rose was in first year, having taken over when the previous potions master had retired. She was an enchanting woman with long dark brown hair that reached her waist and chocolate brown eyes that were full of wisdom and knowledge. She had a very soft subtle British accent that she had gained from the years in the UK, having moved from North America for her father, a Muggle business man's job. Most of the boys in their year had taken quite the shining to the young woman, though she seemed completely unaware of the fact. "Happy Holidays to all of you, now go on, I bet most of you have some packing to do." She smiled again, and Rose rolled her eyes at how most of the male population seemed to drool as she did so. "Miss. Finnigan, can I have a moment please."

Rose and Scorpius exited their dungeon classroom alongside Al and Charlotte. "Smell that? That is the scent of freedom!" Al exclaimed, earning him odd looks from his friends and girlfriend. "What? What did I do?"

The other three laughed out loud at Al's confusion as Scorpius excused himself to go and meet Robin.

* * *

Robin Sparrow paced back and forth in the entrance hall waiting for her boyfriend to finish class. This charade had gone on long enough and she needed to end this relationship sooner rather then later, before she fell in love with Scorpius, something that would only leave her heart broken. She hated to do this to him right before the holidays, but she needed to do this before she chickened out again. She took a deep breath as she heard foot steps coming towards her and a pair of strong arms encircled her waist as Scorpius dropped a soft kiss onto her head before spinning her around and kissing her softly on the lips, leaving her slightly breathless. "Happy Christmas." He told her, as she grabbed his hand and lead him down a corridor to an empty classroom.

"Scorpius." She said softly, looking at the floor. "We need to have a conversation." She looked up, meeting his gray eyes as he nodded simply and she took a deep breath. "Scorpius, you're a great guy, you really are. You're kind, sweet, funny, athletic, and from what I can tell, nothing like your father or grandfather were in the past, but I just can't do this anymore. I need to stop pretending. It's not fair to me or you or Rose." Scorpius opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head, effectively silencing him. "I'm not blind nor stupid. I see the way that the pair of you are together. I'm just a substitute, and it's not fair, not to any of us. I deserve to have a boyfriend who likes me for me, not because I remind him of someone else. I just can't do this anymore Scorpius, and I'm sorry for doing this right before Christmas, but I needed to get this off my chest before I lost my nerve. Please don't hate me, you're a great guy and you deserve to be happy with the girl who you truly love, not just a substitute. I really, truly hope that we can remain friends, because I really do like you and I'd hate to lose you as a friend. I know that everyone says that when they break up but-" Scorpius placed a long slender finger to her lips.

"I'm the one that should be apologizing to you Robin. You deserve so much more then this. I should have ended this months ago when Al and Charlotte pointed out to me how similar you are Rose were, and I'm truly sorry for leading you on. I really, honestly do like you Robin-"

"You're just in love with Rose. I know, anyone with eyes can see that much, well apparently everyone except for Rose." Robin said, and he chuckled sadly, not even bothering to try and protest. "So what do you say? Friends?"

"Friends." He repeated and she gave him a hug before leaving him alone in the empty classroom. Scorpius sighed and couldn't help but feel awful for stringing Robin along for such a long time. He was surprised, but also grateful at how calmly she had been. He had expected and deserved to be yelled at, but he truly admired Robin's maturity about everything. Scorpius sighed sadly as he walked back to Ravenclaw tower, he put his hands in his pockets, feeling the long slender jewelry box that contained Robin's Christmas present. He changed direction, heading towards the owlery. He scribbled a quick not on a piece of parchment before selecting a large black owl, tying the note and the box to his leg and setting him off before heading back to the common room.

* * *

"You alright?" Rose asked him as he slumped onto the sofa beside him. He nodded.

"I'm fine Rosie." He told her unconvincingly, earning him a raised eyebrow.

"You don't sound fine. Everything okay with Robin?" She asked and Scorpius sighed.

"Yeah, it's fine. She broke up with me is all." He told her.

"What?" Rose exclaimed. "Why? The pair of you were a good match."

"My heart hasn't completely been in it for the past little while." He told her, stretching the truth slightly. "She called me out on it, and we decided that we'd be better off friends. Now can we please talk about something else." Rose nodded, letting the subject drop.

"Sure Scorp, but if you ever want to talk, I'll listen." She told him, smiling softly, which he returned. "Now. Al, Lily, Hugo, Charlotte and I are having a little Christmas camp out in the Room of Requirement on Christmas Eve. You better be planning on joining us." Scopius' face broke into a wide grin.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

Christmas Eve night had finally arrived, and Al, Charlotte, Lily, Hugo, Scorpius and Rose made their way to the seventh floor corridor across from the strange painting of the trolls learning ballet, avoiding patrolling professors with the aid of the Marauders Map. Rose paced back and fourth three times and a door appeared. She opened the large wooden door, and the six teens entered the grand room. Six beds sat against one wall opposite the fire, where there stood plush arm chairs and sofas much like the ones in the common rooms and a large, beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in the far corner.

"Wow." Lily exclaimed, flopping down on the bed closest to the door.

"I could get used to this place." Said Hugo as he sat down on the bed beside the only Lily was currently occupying. "So, what are we going to do. It's only half past nine. Rosie, don't even think about suggesting homework, it's Christmas Eve for Merlin's sake!" Everyone laughed as Rose looked highly offended.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Hugo. I was going to suggest that we play a game." She told her brother matter-of-factly as she reached into her bag and extracting a rather decent sized vial and placing it on the table in front of the fire. "Anyone up for a game of truth?"

"What's that?" Hugo asked his sister as everyone joined her by the fire. Rose just smiled.

"It's veritaserum of course." Rose stated and the others just stared at her like she had lost her marbles. "What?" She asked innocently.

"Where did you get that?" Al asked disbelievingly.

"Well dear cousin, do you remember when we brewed this potion last month? I may have forgotten to vanish a certain quantity of mine. You have nothing to worry about, I received perfect marks for it, Professor Dira was particularly impressed by it. It's perfectly safe." She said, and the others continued to stare at her. "Oh come off it you lot, even I break the rules every so often. I am a Weasley after all." She smiled sweetly. "So? Who's in?"

The group made a circle by the fire, placing the vial in the centre. "I've never played this before." Scorpius said.

"It's quite simple really. Basically the way that we always play is that someone poses a question and everyone in the circle must answer it truthfully or face a dare. The veritaserum will make this a whole lot more interesting." Charlotte told him. "It's always interesting what you learn about one another.

"Oh so it's like truth or dare without the options?" Al asked, and Charlotte nodded.

Over the next two hours the group learned many new things about each other. They learned that Hugo only pretended to love the cannons because he didn't have the heart to tell his father otherwise, Charlotte dreaded going home over school holidays because her four older brothers still tormented and made fun of her for being a witch, Lily's greatest ambition, much to Al's displeasure, was to work with dragons like her Uncle Charlie and she was the sole Potter child to inherit her fathers ability to speak parstletongue, Al often wished that he had been sorted into Slytherin over Gryffindor just so then he would have something to set him apart from his father and older brother, Scorpius hadn't spoken with his grandfather since his argument the past summer with the old man about his friendship with Rose, and he still to this day didn't know why the old man had ever been released from Azakaban and Rose had a lot more of a hidden rebellious streak then she had ever let on, being made apparent by the small tattoo of a phenoix that was present on her hip, something that had shocked her friends and family members who were now sworn to secrecy about it because she knew that her parents would kill her if they ever found out. Al had been forced to drink a nasty concoction of pumpkin juice mixed with cockroach clusters, vomit flavoured Berty Bots and Troll Bogies when he refused to answer the question of who his favourite cousin was. Scorpius was forced to run starkers through both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dorms when he refused to answer Charlotte's question of who he was in love with, Rose meeting a similar fate having to go skinny dipping in the black lake at her refusal to answer the same question.

Rose grinned wickedly as the group returned to the Room of Requirement after her little outdoor adventure and dried off. If Charlotte wanted to play dirty she could play dirty. "Okay, so who here is a virgin?" Rose asked, completely forgetting for a minute that she was related to half the room. Everyone took a sip of the veritaserum, but Hugo hesitated, something which didn't go unnoticed by Rose, who had just come to the realization that she was playing this game with her brother and cousins, not the girls in the Ravenclaw dorm. "Hugo! For Merlin's sake you're only fourteen." Rose exclaimed in horror at her younger brother. Hugo blushed a bright red, quickly taking a swig from the vial.

After Charlotte revealed that yes in fact she and Al had been sleeping together for quite some time now, and Scorpius had revealed that he had with Robin, Hugo managed to convince his sister that no he in fact not done that with Mika Longbottom, it was Scorpius' turn to ask a question, and Rose immediately regretted the direction that she had taken the game in. "Okay, so who here has had oral sex?" Scorpius asked cheekily. Lily looked absolutely disgusted, much to Al's delight as she answered no along with Hugo. Al, Charlotte and Scorpius' answers were unsurprising yeses, but everyones jaws dropped as Rose turned bright red and nodded.

"Oh my ears!" Hugo exclaimed in horror, and Lily looked like she was going to throw up.

"Okay, well I think that I'm permanently scared for life." The youngest Potter said before heading off to get ready for bed, Hugo following shortly after.

"You?" Scorpius said, eyes wide as he processed the new bit of information that he had just learned about his best friend. "When? With who?" Rose blushed a deeper shade of red and mumbled something so softly that no one could hear her.

"What was that?" Charlotte asked, smirking. Scorpius sometimes thought that she would have done very well in Slytherin.

"Jenkins okay. Someone spiked the punch after the finals last year and well..."

"Oye I can still hear you." Hugo said. "Please wait until I'm out of ear shot, there are some thing that I have no desire to know about my sister." Everyone laughed at Hugo and decided to call it a night and went to prepare for bed.

"Oye! Potter, Mason, no funny business, I think we've already scared the young ones enough for one night." Scorpius teased the couple as they climbed into the bed closest to the wall.

"Oh sod off Malfoy." Al called back "You and my cousin better behave yourselves too, after all, we wouldn't want Hugo to have an aneurysm, on second though... ow! Hugo!" Rose and Scorpius both blushed at Al's words as Hugo launched a well aimed stinging spell at the raven haired boy. Scorpius made his way over to his bed, where Rose was sitting cross legged on the end and he climbed onto the bed mirroring her position.

"Remind me why I thought that it would be a good idea to play that game with my brother and cousins?" Rose asked him, pulling her legs to her chest and burying her head in her knees, as Scorpius laughed.

"I don't know Rosie, but you're the one who changed the tone of the game." She shook her head.

"Oh please, Charlotte was headed in that direction when she dared you to run starkers through the dorms. I wasn't expecting her to actually answer it, and well I just sort of got caught up and forgot that it wasn't the girls in the Ravenclaw dorms that I was playing with." Scorpius laughed again.

"Jenkins? Really Rosie? You could do so much better then that." Rose groaned.

"That was just a huge mistake Scorp, if it wasn't for the spiked punch it never would have happened." She told him.

"Uh huh. So, did you enjoy it?" Rose glared at him as she reached over grabbing his pillow and hitting him with it repeatedly until he held his hands up in surrender moments later and the pair flopped back on the bed laughing.

* * *

Scorpius awoke the next morning to the whispers of Lily and Hugo and the feeling of a warm body laying beside him. He opened his eyes to a mass of dark red curls and smiled. The pair had stayed up talking for at least an hour after the others had gone to sleep. Scorpius carefully untangled his legs from hers and climbed out of the bed, pulling the covers up around her and pushing a stay curl out of her face, before turning around and remembering that he wasn't alone in the room as Lily and Hugo stood there grinning like cheshire cats.

"Oh shut up." Scorpius told the pair of fourteen year olds.

"Malfoy, you're an idiot." Hugo told him. "Will you just tell her already? Your pining is getting old."

"Tell who what?" He asked feigning ignorance.

"You bloody well know what he's on about. The whole bloody school knows what he's on about." Lily told him as Al and Charlotte joined them.

"So, who gets to wake Rose?" Al said, and four sets of eyes landed on Scorpius.

"Me? Why me?"

"Well, out of all of us, she's least likely to cause you any lasting bodily harm." Al told him.

"Plus, she's in your bed." Charlotte added with a smirk that would have made his grandfather proud. Scorpius sighed in defeat before making his way over to where Rose slept and sat down on the side of the bed, shaking her softly.

"Rosie? Come on love, time to wake up." He said softly. She shifted slightly before opening her eyes. "Happy Christmas love." He said with a smile "Everyone's waiting for you." Rose stretched and climbed out of bed and the pair made their way over to where the others sat by the tree and the group began to open their presents.

"Oh! Scorp! Char! Looks like grandmum sent the pair of you jumpers." Rose exclaimed excitedly as she passed her friends the lumpy packages.

"Looks like the pair of you are honourary Weasley's now." Hugo said and Scorpius smiled. As much as his grandfather would despise that, Scorpius loved the thought. Scorpius looked over at Rose who was currently deep in a conversation with Lily and Charlotte, the simple silver pendent that he had given her, secured around her neck.

"Will you just bloody tell her." Hugo said once again. "She fancies you too you know." Scorpius just looked at the young fire haired boy.

"It's not that easy Hugo. I'm a Malfoy."

"So what? It's not like your last names stopped you from being friends." Hugo said.

"That's different, Hugo. Friends is one thing. Your father would kill me. Besides, why would she love me?"

Hugo just shook his head. "Will you just think about it Malfoy. The last thing you want is to be living with regrets. Just open your eyes and you';; see what I mean. Now come on, we should go down to breakfast. I'm starving."


	29. Crunch Time

**Chapter 29: Crunch Time**

**Disclaimer: ** Don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone, I know it's been forever since I've updated, but the last few month of school were nuts, I don't think I've ever written that many essays in my entire life. Alas school is out and I'm home for the summer and finally, FINALLY updating after way way WAY too long. I'm almost done writing this story, I only have 4.5 chapters left to write until it's done. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this whole story and a special thanks to those who have reviewed, I love reading your feedback. I'm going to try and be a little bit better with my updating for the last series of chapters. I can't believe that after all this time this story has almost come to a close and I already have another idea in mind for another story, so stay tuned. Please read and review :D**

**-SM**

The new term at Hogwarts was going by quickly. Between prefect duties, homework, upcoming exams and Quidditch, everyone was kept extremely busy. Rose had been pushing her team extra hard during practices, successfully leading Ravenclaw to secure the position against Gryffindor in the finals. They had once again completely destroyed Hufflepuff yet again, as well as Slytherin and had managed to come out on top in their past match against Gryffindor. Rose was certain that this fate would repeat itself in the upcoming finals which were only two days away.

The Ravenclaw team trudged into the common room after yet another one of Rose's grueling four hour practices with Rose reminding them that they were to report to the pitch at the same time the next evening for another practice, just to ensure that they would be prepared to face off against Gryffindor in the finals.

"Scorp, you up for a bit of revising before rounds?" Rose asked her best friend as they flopped down on the sofa by the fire in the common room and Scorpius groaned in response.

"Rosie, I love you, I really do, but you're going to be the death of me." He exclaimed.

"Scorp, exams are coming up and-"

"These next two years are vital in determining my future. Yeah, I know Rose." He said, finishing her speech, which he now knew by heart and Rose smiled.

"Meet me back here in five minutes with your notes for Potions, Defense and History of Magic." She told him, gathering her Quidditch gear and bounding up the stairs to the girls dorms to get her notes.

* * *

"What were the seven Horcruxes that Voldemort made?" Rose asked him. They had an hour left before their rounds were set to begin and they had just moved onto their third revision subject of the evening. The first five years in History of Magic, they had done an intensive study of the History of the Wizarding World prior to the Second Wizarding War, only briefly discussing the downfall of Voldemort and his Death Eaters at the hands of Rose's Uncle and parents in preparation for their OWLS. This past year, the focus had been on the Horcrux hunt, specifically focusing on what the Horcruxes were, where they were found and how to destroy them. It wouldn't be until seventh year that they covered the Battle of Hogwarts and the roles of the Death Eaters in the Rise of Voldemort.

"Oh come on Rosie, everyone knows this." He said, exasperated and she narrowed her eyes at him. Scorpius let out a sigh as he responded, deadpan. "Riddle's Diary, Gaunt's Ring, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Goblet, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Nagini and your Uncle."

The pair spent the remainder of the hour before their rounds reviewing the Horcrux hunt, beginning when Harry destroyed Riddle's Diary in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year until the end, when the last Horcrux was destroyed. The material that they had covered skipped over the parts that centered around the trio's capture by the snatchers, escape from the death eaters that held them captive and the Battle of Hogwarts itself, all of which would be covered the following year.

Scorpius glanced at the clock and was grateful to discover that it told him that rounds were to start in five minutes. The pair closed their books, depositing them in their dorms before heading out to complete their prefect rounds. He and Rose had drawn the worst patrol for a Friday night. The pair was set to patrol the Dungeons and the Astronomy Tower, both being prime hot spots for couples looking to be alone.

Scorpius sighed as he and Rose sent yet another couple back to their dorms. "What's going on?" Scorpius exclaimed as the pair climbed down the steps of the of the Astronomy Tower, earning him an odd look from Rose. "That's the seventh pair tonight."

Rose laughed. "Oh Scorp, with exams right around the corner I'm surprised there weren't more." This time it was Scorpius who shot her an odd look.

"And that's relevant how?" He questioned causing her to laugh once again.

"Exams mean stress and tension, and nothing helps with that more then a good snog." She told him and his eyebrows shot up, his lips forming a perfect 'o' before his trademark smirk graced his features.

"I suppose it does, doesn't it."

* * *

_Scorpius sat in the Ravenclaw common room, hunched over his Arithmancy notes. He could feel the tension in his body. With ten exams to prepare for, he was really feeling the pressure, especially with Rose constantly reminding him of the importance of his studies. "Scorp?" He looked up at Rose, who currently stood in front of him in a simple pair of jeans and a dark purple t-shirt that hugged her curves just right. She approached him, sitting beside him on the sofa. "You seem tense." She told him. "I think that I may be able to help with that." She said seductively, placing a hand on his jaw, caressing it softly before leaning down to capture his lips with her own. He groaned in pleasure as he felt her tongue dart out against his lips and he opened his mouth, allowing her entrance. The kiss quickly got more heated as he moaned her name against her lips. He pulled her flush against his body leaving no space between the two of them as she straddled him. He felt her soft warm hands making their way up the front of his t-shirt, feeling his Quidditch toned muscles. They broke their kiss for a moment as he helped her discard his shirt, and hers quickly followed. He kissed his way down her neck until he reached the arch of her breasts and she moaned his name breathlessly as he returned his attention to her lips while caressing her more then adequate breasts with his large hands, enjoying the many different moans of pleasure that he was able to elicit from her. She ran her hand down his bare chest, trailing kisses down the same path he hand had taken until she reached the waist band of his jeans before stopping._

"_Don't stop." He said, not caring how breathless he sounded._

"_What if somebody comes down?" _

"_I don't care. Just don't stop, don't ever fucking stop." Rose smirked at him, grinding her hips against his, causing him to groan. She picked up his wand from the table and cast three spells non-verbally before attacking him with kisses again. She pushed him back softly so he was laying down on the sofa as she once again straddled him, trailing kisses down his chest, but this time, she didn't stop once she hit the waist band of his jeans. Instead, she made quick work of the zipper and button, tossing them on the floor along with their shirts and her own jeans. Once again, she ground her hips against his and he moaned loudly. "Don't stop Rosie, so good." He told her as he gripped her hips and mimicked her prior motion and she threw her head back in pleasure, biting her lower lip. _

"_I wouldn't dream of it." She told him as she reached behind herself and unclasped her bra…_

Scorpius woke with a start on the morning of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch final, breathing heavily. He had been experiencing this re-occurrant dream of himself and Rose engaging in more then friendly activities ever since their little game in the Room of Requirement during the Holidays. Each time, the dream felt more and more real, causing him to wake up with a rather obvious problem. Ever since his conversation on Friday night with Rose, the dreams had just become more intense, he could practically smell her shampoo.

"Good dream?" Rose's voice startled him, as he snapped his head in the direction of her voice, meeting her eyes where she stood, leaning against the wall across from his bed. She was clad in her Quidditch robes, her broom leaning beside her on the wall, a smirk gracing her features.

"Bloody hell Rose!" He exclaimed, sitting up quickly, pulling his knees to his chest. He looked at his clock and noticed that there was only an hour until the match was to start.

"Match is in an hour, do you think you'll manage to be ready by then or do you need some help?" Her question was innocent, but it cause Scorpius to groan as the images from his dream flashed through his head.

"N-n-no. I'll be ready." Smooth, real smooth, he thought to himself as Rose quirked an eyebrow at him before grabbing his Quidditch robes from his trunk and chucking them at him.

"Make sure you get some breakfast. Locker room. Half an hour." She stated, smirking, as she sauntered out of his room. Scorpius flopped back on his bed letting out a frustrated sigh. This was getting completely out of control. Out of all the girls in the entire school, he had to fall for his best friend.

* * *

"You're all fabulous players and as a team, you work together seamlessly. We've trained hard, we've fought hard, now let's go out there and show those Gryffindor's what we're made of!" Rose told her team just moments before they were to hit the pitch and begin the final match of the season. Rose was confident in her team, they were an amazing bunch of people and she knew that they had it in them to once again, take home the cup. The team mounted their brooms and flew out onto the pitch to begin the match.

* * *

Rose wiped the sweat off her brow. It was an abnormally hot day for May and the game was taking forever. They were already three hours into the match, and there had been no sign of the snitch. Both Jacob and Al looked frustrated as the little golden ball continued to elude them. Ravenclaw was currently in the lead 360-220, leading by 140 points. All they needed was to catch the snitch and the cup was theirs for the taking. She saw a glint of gold over near the Gryffindor goal, and moments later both Al and Jacob were speeding towards it.

"Ro!" Charlotte called out as she tossed the quaffle at Rose and she took off in the same direction that the two seekers had just seconds before. She sped towards her brother as fast as she could, tossing the ball to Scorpius at the last second. He put it through the left hoop as Al snatched the snitch only a second before Jacob could. The crowd went silent. The score was tied 370-370 and the only thing that could be heard throughout the stadium was quiet murmurs. This had been time in Hogwarts History that there had been a tie in a Quidditch final. Madame Merit, the flying instructor and Quidditch referee took the mike from Mika Longbottom.

"Attention everyone. As you are all aware, the score is tied 370-370. As this is the last match of the year we must have a winner. We will play a one-hour sudden death round, no seekers. The first team to score a goal will be the winner. If after one hour, neither team has scored, we will proceed to shootouts until we have a winner."

The two teams took to the field once again, minus their seekers for the sudden death round. Rose took a deep breath. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were perfectly matched; the game could go either way. Madame Merit released the quaffle and Lily took possession, though Rose, Scorpius and Charlotte were hot on her trail as she took aim and released the ball, sending it flying towards the right hoop, but Dominic was took quick and easily save the shot and for the next hour this was how the match proceeded. They had a few close calls, but no one scored. Madame Merit blew her whistle announcing the beginning of the shootouts; the best of six or if need be, more shots would be the winner.

Molly was up first and managed to maneuver quickly enough to sneak the quaffle past Dominic and Charlotte used her quick mind and training to easily put the quaffle past Hugo. Roxanne wasn't as lucky as Dominic easily blocked her shot. Scorpius was up next, and he gave it his all, yet much to everyone's horror, Hugo intercepted the shot at the last second. Lily with quick maneuvering and skill she managed to slip the quaffle past Dominic, as Rose did with Hugo. In the second set of three, no one had missed a shot.

Rose took a deep breath, she had to make her shot or Gryffindor would win. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she held the quaffle in her hands. She knew that she could do this; she had put numerous quaffles past her brother in the past several years. She glanced over at Charlotte and Scorpius, who smiled reassuringly at her and she took off towards the Gryffindor goal. She knew that her brother was a good keeper, just as he knew that she was one of the best chasers the school had seen in a long time. They had been playing Quidditch together since Hugo was old enough to ride a broom and therefore, knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Rose released the quaffle and it seemed to move in slow motion as it soared over her brothers head into the centre hoop. The crowd cheered and Rose let out a sigh of relief as they moved into their second round of shootouts.

The score was still tied as it came down to her and Lily for the last two shots of round two of the shootouts. No one had missed a shot in this round and Lily was up. Rose took a deep breath as her cousin sped towards Dominic, calculating her shot as she did so. She released the large red ball and everyone watched as it soared toward the right hoop. Dominic reached out, just barely managing to capture the ball with his fingertips, nearly falling off his broom in the process.

Rose's heart was pounding as she was handed the Quaffle. It all came down to her, if she made this shot, they would win. For the second time that day, the stadium was completely silent. Rose took a shaky breath as she closed her eyes for a moment in preparation. All she had to do was make this shot and Ravenclaw would win. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes and began to speed towards the goal. She released the ball and it went soaring through the air. Hugo reached up, his fingertips grazing the ball as he attempted to get a grip on it. Her heart began to pound faster in her chest as the ball slipped from her brother's grasp and teetered for a moment on the rim of the centre hoop before falling into the hoop.

The crowd erupted into cheers as Rose grabbed Hugo, who was the closest person to her and gave him a crushing hug. "Good game Hugo, you played marvelously." He smiled at his sister, though the disappointment at his own loss was evident in his eyes.

"You too Rosie." Rose released her brother and descended to the ground and was greeted by her excited teammates. Charlotte ran over to Rose, giving her a bone-crushing hug in excitement.

"Merlin, that was the longest match ever! But we won Ro! We won!" Charlotte released her friend as she saw Scorpius approaching. Rose ran over to where Scorpius was and launched herself into his arms.

"Great job Rosie." He told her placing her back on the ground as the pair followed the rest of the team into the lockers for well-earned showers followed by a large celebration of their victory. As the pair entered the lockers, Scorpius leaned down and whispered something into her ear that made her laugh.

"Weasley is our Queen."

**AN: I'm posting a longer version of Scorpius's dream from this story as a stand alone piece. I couldn't continue it here because I don't want to have to put the rating up to M.**


	30. If You've Got It

**Chapter 30- If You've Got It…**

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm going to try and update as fast as I can write. Anyways I can't believe that I'm only 8 reviews away from breaking 200, that's so exciting. I'm so glad that you all have liked this story to stay with me for around 70,000 words and now 30 chapters. Five more chapters to go before this story comes to an end, but as I mentioned before, I already have an idea for another multi chapter Scorpius/Rose fic that I plan on starting as soon as I finish this one off. Anyways please read and review, I'd love to crack 200 reviews before this story gets marked complete. Anyways, enjoy!**

**-SM**

Rose loved Muggle London, it was one of her favourite place. All the Muggles bustling around, those tin cans on wheels that they used from transportation, she loved all of it. Rose ran through the open field at the park near Charlotte's house, where she spent the past week and a half of her summer. She loved Charlotte's family and cozy house. Her brothers had been a bit skeptical at first when they had discovered that Rose would be staying with them for two weeks, but once they realized that Rose wouldn't hurt them, they seemed to be indifferent to her presence.

Rose flopped down onto the grass beside Charlotte, who lay sprawled out on her back staring at the clear blue sky. "Are you excited for tomorrow?" Rose asked her friend. The girls, along with Al and Scorpius were going to the beach for the day, something that both girls had been looking forward to all week. Both girls had Muggle driver's licenses so it would just be the four of them on their little trip the following day to celebrate Charlotte's seventeenth birthday. Charlotte was the youngest out of the four of them and now that she had finally come of age, she would be taking the test to get her apparition license along with Rose and Scorpius in three weeks time. Al, who had turned seventeen in January couldn't wait until his friends had their licenses so they could, as he so kindly put it 'stop travelling in a bloody tin can'.

"Yeah." Charlotte told her. "It'll be marvelous, laying out in the sun all day, watching all the gorgeous boy playing volleyball and what have you."

"Charlotte, you have Al." Rose told her friend, giggling.

"Doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the male physique, especially on a beach. Now come on, don't tell me you weren't just thinking the same thing." Rose blushed, knowing that her friend was right in her assumption. "I knew it, though I have a feeling that a certain blonde will be capturing most of your attention, Merlin knows you'll have all of his, tell me that you're going to tease the boy a little bit." Rose shook her head. "What, no teeny bikini?"

"Merlin no! I'll stick to my tankini thank you very much. It's quite tasteful. Plus, we both know I'm not daring enough to prance around half naked on a beach." Rose protested.

"Says the girl who got a tattoo without telling her parents. Come on Rose, you know the old Muggle saying if you've got it flaunt it?" Rose nodded skeptically. "Well Ro, you've definitely got it, so why not flaunt it, especially around a certain blonde Quidditch playing Ravenclaw."

"Charlotte I-"

"Oh shut up Ro, you're Quidditch toned, long legged, got curves in all the right places and more then enough cleavage. Half of the male population at Hogwarts drools when you walk by, and the other half are either related to you or too respectful to do so. Now, I won't here any of this, we're going shopping." Rose groaned, she absolutely hated shopping, but she knew better then to argue with Charlotte. There was no way she was getting out of this one.

Charlotte dragged Rose into almost every store in the mall, the pair returning to Charlotte's house four hours, six bikini's, three sundresses and two mini skirts later.

"I think you should wear the red one Ro." Charlotte said, referring to the extremely tiny bright red string bikini that she had some how talked Rose into buying.

"Char, I don't think that this can even be classified as swimwear." She said holding up the two small pieces of fabric.

"Oh come off it Ro, it looks amazing on you." Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, but only if you wear the turquoise one. I'm not going to be the only one walking around like this. If I get arrested for indecent exposure, I'm taking you with me." Charlotte laughed at her friends comment. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

Scorpius sat in the front seat of Charlotte's red convertible beside Rose, who was driving as Charlotte and Al sucked each other's faces off in the backseat. He couldn't stop staring at the beautiful red-head beside him, her deep curls blowing in the wind as they sped down the road toward the beach. It never ceased to amaze him just how beautiful Rose was. She looked so at ease sitting behind the steering wheel, a pair of aviator sunglasses perched on her button nose. She wore a simple white sundress and sandals and looked absolutely breath taking. Rose had never been one for dresses, but he wished that she'd wear them more often so he could see her long creamy legs.

A short while later, Scorpius was brought out of his trance as Rose parked the car; they had arrived. He headed down towards the water with Al after shedding his t-shirt as the girls laid out their towels to sunbathe. Scorpius glanced back at the girls just as Rose pulled her white dress over her head and his mouth went dry as he took in the sight before him.

"Scorp?" Al said, waving a hand in front of his friends face, but Scorpius just continued to stare. Al followed the blonde's line of sight and his eyes bugged out of his head when he saw what his cousin was wearing. "Merlin!" He exclaimed as he looked back at his friend, poor bloke, Rose had no idea what she did to the young Malfoy.

"Merlin's right, she's perfect. And who knew she had tits like that." Scorpius said absent mindedly, forgetting to whom he was talking. Al's eyes bulged out of his head for the second time in as many minutes.

"Uh, Scorp? I'd really appreciate if you'd keep your, uh, comments about my _cousin's_, uh, assets to yourself." Al said awkwardly as Scorpius was brought out of his trance.

"Um I- Oh Merlin" Al laughed at his friends panicked state. "Sorry mate, it's just that she- uh- well- um I mean that- cousin-sorry- I uh…"Al was laughing so hard that there were tears streaming down his cheeks as Scorpius tried to stammer out an explanation, or maybe an apology, Al really couldn't be sure.

"I know mate." Al said once he'd regained his ability to speak. "Just, uh, keep your comments about certain things to yourself. She is my _cousin_ after all." Al gave Scorpius a friendly slap on the back. "Fancy a swim?" Scorpius nodded as he followed Al toward the water praying that despite the warm weather, the water would be ice cold.

* * *

"Hey Scorp!" Rose said as she approached, a beach ball under one arm. "Fancy a little one on one?" Scorpius looked at her confused for a second before she gestured to the ball under her arm and he nodded. He followed her to an area of the beach where there were some nets set up.

"You're going to have to teach me, I've never played before." He told her and she quickly explained the basic rules to him. The pair played for about half an hour before Al and Charlotte joined them and they played teams, Rose and Scorpius against Al and Charlotte, the former pair winning by only a small margin.

Before long, the teens were all packed up and headed back home. Al and Scorpius would return to Al's for the night and Rose would remain at Charlotte's until the end of the week.

As Scorpius climbed into the spare bed in Al's room, he couldn't get Rose out of his head; her long curly red hair, her brown eyes, the cute little freckles that were sprinkled across her button nose that she had never liked, but he thought they were adorable. Scorpius sighed, she definitely was perfect.

"Mate, why don't you just, I don't know, tell her how you feel?" Al said. "Merlin knows the pair of you have been dancing around this since at least fourth year." Al was growing sick of how the pair of them continually danced around their feelings for one another, anyone with eyes could see how they looked at each other, anyone except them apparently, and Uncle Ron, though that was probably for the best.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same Al, I don't want to lose her, she's my best friend." Scorpius told him. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

"This is you and Rose we're talking about here Scorp. If anyone was to be able to survive that it would be the pair of you, but I don't think you need to worry about that. Now will you go to sleep and stop yammering on like a fourteen year old girl. You're worse then Lily!"

"Bugger off Potter!"

* * *

Rose walked through the back garden of the Potter's manor on the second to last weekend in August. Her family had supper with the Potter's almost every Saturday during the summer. Rose smiled as she watched Lily and Hugo playing two on two Quidditch with Al and Scorpius, she had elected to sit out until James arrived.

"He's a wonderful boy Rosie." Rose whipped her head around, coming face to face with her Aunt Ginny.

"What?" Ginny laughed at the expression on her nieces face.

"Come off it Rose, you know what I'm talking about." Rose looked up at her Aunt.

"Dad would murder me if he found out." She said. "He has enough problems with us being friendly. If we were to become anything more, oh Aunt Ginny, it would kill him."

"Rosie, sweetheart, listen to me. I know you love your father but he's a right git sometimes. You can't let him stand in the way of your happiness, he'll come round, I promise. Not even he can deny that Scorpius is a fine young man." Ginny smiled.

"I love him Aunt Ginny." Ginny looked at the beautiful young woman in front of her who was staring down at her hands. Ginny smiled, placing her hand over her nieces, leading her over to the porch swing and sat her down.

"Rose let me tell you something about your father. When your Uncle Harry and I fist began seeing each other, your father wasn't exactly fond of our relationship. See Rose, with your father, he likes to think that he knows what's best for everyone, yet sometimes, well, most of the time he just needs to be shown that he's being stubborn. You know what's best for you and you just have to make your father see that. The past history between our family and the Malfoy's is just that, the past. You and Scorpius became friends in spite of the decades of bad blood between your families. It's your life Rose, in spite of what Ronald seems to believe, he can't control who you fall in love with."

Rose looked up at her aunt and smiled. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Aunt Ginny was related to her father. She contemplated what her aunt said and smiled.

"But what if he doesn't feel the same? I don't want to ruin our friendship." Ginny shook her head, Rose was truly her father's daughter, at least in some aspects.

"Rose, I don't think that you have anything to worry about. Just open your eyes sweetheart, you'll see what I mean. That boy only has eyes for you Rosie." Rose blinked as she once again met her aunt's eyes. Could Ginny be right? Could Scorpius really feel the same way? Had she truly been thick enough not to see what was right in front of her? Rose thought back over the past few years, the little gestures, the subtle touches that she'd written off as nothing, the glances, everything and Rose gasped in realization.

"Oh Merlin!" Ginny smiled at the young woman who sat beside her. Rose glanced over at the Quidditch pitch. How could she have missed it, everything was right in front of her the whole time, was it possible that he loved her too?

"Oye! Rosie!" James called to her as he entered the garden. "Let's play some Quidditch!"

"Go on sweetie." Ginny told her.

"Thanks Aunt Ginny." Rose said before running off to join the others.

Ginny remain on the porch swing after Rose had gone off to join the Quidditch match, watching the children from a distance.

"What are you up to?" Harry came and sat beside her with a mysterious glint in his eye, suspicion evident in his tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She told her husband. Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. After all these years, he knew when she was up to something, but he'd also learned when not to push a topic.

"Right…" He said, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her softly. Ginny smiled at her husband as she laid her head on his shoulder as they watched the children play Quidditch.

"They grow up so fast." Ginny said.

"Yeah, they really do." Harry agreed.

"I love you." She said simply.

"Love you too Gin."


	31. The Truth Exposed

**Chapter 31- The Truth Exposed**

**Disclaimer:** Nope still don't own

**AN: Hey everyone! I know it's taking me forever to update, I feel like summer is crazier schedule wise then the school year, now how messed up is that? Anyways thanks to all of you who have stuck with me through the past 30 chapters. I finally hit 200 reviews so thanks to each and every one of you who has taken the time to review this story, your support keeps me going! Now enough rambling, onwards :P**

**-SM**

"Rose! Albus! Lily! Hugo! Come give us a hand will you?" Molly Weasley called to her grandchildren. It was the last weekend before everyone would be headed back to Hogwarts and all the Weasley's and Potter's were gathering at the burrow for supper along with Charlotte and Scorpius who were quickly becoming pseudo clan members. "Come on dears, hurry up. Come help us set the table."

Rose, Al, Lily and Hugo accepted the place settings from their grandmother and set to work preparing the dining room for supper. "Mum?" Bill called out as he entered the kitchen with Fleur.

"Oh Bill, Fleur, dear how are you?"

"Wonderful Mum, the others should be along shortly."

* * *

After one of Molly's home cooked meals, the adults gathered along with Teddy and Victoire, who had just announced that they were expecting a baby in February while the rest of the kids headed out into the yard to begin the annual pick-up Quidditch match. It was Al, Hugo, Lily, Roxie, Molly, Lucy and Louis against Rose, Scorpius, Charlotte, Jared, Dominique, Fred and James with Rose standing in as keeper and Scorpius as seeker.

The group played for hours but Rose's team came out ahead in the end as Scorpius snatched the snitch from right under Al's nose just seconds before the raven haired boy could grab it.

"Oye! Malfoy! You make a fair seeker, you know for a Ravenclaw." James said teasingly as he smaked the blonde hard on the back.

"Who is it that has won the Quidditch cup for seven years running? Oh yeah, Ravenclaw." Rose taunted her cousin, earning her a death glare from James before the older Potter returned his attention to Scorpius.

"Maybe you aren't so bad after all, you know, for a Malfoy." Scorpius smirked and couldn't help but chuckle at the young auror in training's antics.

The group descended to the ground and Rose came up behind Scorpius. "You were brilliant Scorp."

"You're not so bad yourself Rosie." He smiled at her softly, poking the tip of her nose playfully before turning serious. "Rosie, there's something I need to tell you." Rose nodded and followed her best friend across the yard to where an old hammock hung between two trees and the pair sat down on it side by side. Scorpius swallowed hard and looked up to meet Rose's eyes.

"What is it Scorp?" He looked at his hands which lay clasped in his lap and drew a shaky breath.

"Rose I-" he pushed the lump that was forming in his throat down.

"You what Scorp? Come on, out with it, you know you can tell me anything." Rose took her hand and placed it on his jaw, drawing his face up so his eyes met hers. She studied his icy grey eyes for any sign of the feelings that her aunt insisted lay within him.

"I know Rosie." He said softly. "I just wanted to tell you that I-" he paused for a moment, searching for any Gryffindor courage that he may have buried within him. "I- I- I lo- made head boy." Coward. Rose gave him a look that told him she knew he was going to tell her something else before quickly plastering on a smile.

"That's great Scorp." She told him through her forced smile. "I know that we're going to make a great pair." He cocked his head to the side and Rose laughed. "Oh come on Scorp, you may be thick sometimes, but you're not that thick. I'm head girl."

"That's wonderful Rosie." He said as his face broke out in to a wide smile. "This is going to be a great year."

"Yeah, it is."

* * *

"Rose I-" This was it, Rose thought to herself.

"You what Scorp?" Come on, out with it, you know you can tell me anything." She took her hand and placed it on his jaw, bringing his eyes to meet hers, studying them for any sign of the feelings her aunt said were present.

"I know Rosie. I just wanted to tell you that I-" Rose inhaled deeply, hoping that this was going to be the moment that he would utter the words that she'd been longing to hear for such a long period of time. "I-I-I- lo-made head boy."

What? That was it? That was what he wanted to tell her? She looked at him skeptically and gave him a small smiled as she realized that he was going to tell her something else, but changed his mind at the last second. Her heart sunk as she plastered on a fake, unconvincing smile and congratulated him telling him that she was head girl, but she couldn't help but wonder what he was going to say to her.

* * *

"I'm a bloody coward." Scorpius told Al later that night when they had returned to the Potter's. "Just like my father, I'm nothing but a bloody coward."

Al looked at the blonde who sat on the spare bed with his head in his hands. "You're not your father Scorpius, you're nothing like him."

"I couldn't tell her Al. I'm a right coward and you know it."

"That doesn't make you your father." Al said encouragingly, and Scorpius shot him a look.

"I'm never going to be able to tell her. Every time I try I just turn into a blubbering idiot. What am I going to do Al?"

"Uh, I don't know mate, I guess if you can't tell her, show her." Al said nonchalantly.

"Show her." Scorpius repeated. "Al that's brilliant, but how?"

Al groaned. "I don't know, I'm rubbish at this sort of thing."

"Need I remind you that you're the one with the girlfriend?" Scorpius pointed out. "A girlfriend who just so happens to be Rose's best female friend, not to mention that you're her ruddy cousin."

"And your point is?" Al said, raising his eyebrow.

"You're completely useless, you know that right?" Al just shrugged.

"Come on, you're her best mate, you probably know her better then anyone. You'll figure it out, you Ravenclaws always seem to find the answers." Scorpius gave Al a skeptical look. "I don't know, ask Charlotte, or Lily, or Dom or Roxie or one of my other fifty female cousins, your mother, grandmother, Aunt Hermione's cat, your house elf, honestly ask anyone but me. You better figure this out soon Malfoy, you're starting to drive me mental."

"Remind me why we're friends again?" Scorpius asked. Al shrugged and Scorpius launched a pillow at him.

"Goodnight princess."

"Shut it Potter."

* * *

Rose stumbled down into the kitchen the next morning around 9:30 the next morning and helped herself to one of her mother's homemade muffins and eggs before joining Hermione at the table.

"Morning mum." She greeted. Hermione place the prophet down on the table and smiled at her daughter, who was currently removing the wrapper from the base of her muffin.

"Morning Rose. They're carrot, you're favourite." Hermione said, smiling as Rose took a bit moaning in pleasure at the flavor of the muffin. Grandma Molly had given both Hermione and Ginny a set of very through cooking lessons after the war and as she did at everything else, Hermione excelled. Rose enjoyed her mother's cooking almost as much as her grandmothers.

Hermione stood up and kissed her daughter on the top of her head. "Rose, sweetheart, after you finish up, would you mind joining your father and I in the den, we have something that we need to discuss with you." Rose smiled, confusion evident on her soft features.

"Sure mum, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Take your time sweetie." Hermione said exiting the kitchen as Hugo walked in.

"You alright Posie?" He said stuffing half a muffin into his mouth.

"Hugo, that's disgusting and I told you never to call me that." Hugo raised his hands in surrender.

"Come on Rose, what's wrong? You look like you'd just seen Voldemort's ghost or something." Rose studied her brother carefully.

"You told didn't you?" She asked accusingly.

"W-What? Told who what?" Hugo asked confused as he stuffed the other half of his muffin in his mouth.

"You told mum and dad about this, didn't you." She said, tapping her hip.

"Are you mental? I'm not that stupid." Hugo exclaimed, grabbing another muffin and taking a large bite.

"Then what the bloody hell do they want to discuss with me?" Hugo shrugged as her stuffed the rest of his muffin into his mouth. "Uh! Hugo!"

"What?" He asked through a mouthful of muffin and Rose stalked out of the kitchen and headed into the den to meet her parents.

When Rose entered the den she wasn't quite sure what to expect. Her mother stood against her desk when her father sat perched in the desk chair. "Everything alright?" She asked cautiously.

"Everything's fine sweetheart." Her mother said. "Why don't you take a seat?" Rose sank down slowly onto the edge of the small couch and Hermione joined her.

"Rosie, we want to talk to you about the war. You are going to be hearing a lot of things about what happened to us during the war in your class this year, and we wanted you to hear it from us first before you hear it in class. We feel this is especially important due to your relationship with that Malfoy boy." Ron told her and she nodded slowly.

"There are a lot of things that happened during the war that we haven't spoken to you or your brother about." Hermione said. "They were dark times, everyone living in fear that Voldemort would turn up at any moment. You've learned about some of what happened, but Rose, what you need to understand is what war does to people." Rose nodded slowly.

"There are going to be things that you will learn in your lessons that will be extremely difficult for you to hear and talk about which is why your mother and I decided that we needed you to hear this from us now, so you will be prepared for what you will hear in class." Ron told his daughter. "Especially with regards to the Malfoy's."

For the next few hours Ron and Hermione told Rose everything from Hermione's torture, to the role that the Malfoy's played to the battle and the downfall of Voldemort. Rose couldn't believe some of the things that she was hearing and the more her parents told her, the more she understood why she was being told this now. She couldn't imagine hearing most of these things for the first time in a classroom, but she also understood why her parents had kept these things from them for so long. She had been aware that Scorpius' family had a dark past and heavy connection with Voldemort during the war, everyone did, but she hadn't realized the extent of it up until now. After her parents finished explaining everything to her she excused herself and retreated to her bedroom to process everything that she had been told before proceeding to write an extremely lengthy letter to Charlotte about everything that she had been told.

Rose sighed as she laid back on her bed. She couldn't believe everything her parents had told her, especially the deep involvement of Scorpius' family. She had of course known about the blackened past of the Malfoy's, it was common knowledge in the Wizarding community, but her parents had done a very good job of keeping the extent of it hidden from their children. She had, in the span of the afternoon, learned why Scorpius hated his family and name so much and also why her father had such negative feelings towards Scorpius and his family.

Rose stood up and walked over to her desk and picked up a quill and some parchment and began to write. She needed to write to Scorpius, but every time she put her quill to the parchment, she found that there was nothing she could write down that would do what she wanted to say justice. Rose let out an exasperated sigh as she dropped her quill and put her head in her hands. A soft knock cam on her door and Hermione came in, closing the door behind her.

"Rose, are you all right sweetheart?" Her mother asked. "I know that it's a lot to take in, but this is exactly why your father and I felt you should hear it before you talk about it in class. I know that it will be difficult for you to hear these things, to see not only your family, but that of your best friend picked apart and analyzed in a classroom, but you're a strong girl Rose, I know that you'll handle it."

Hermione ran her fingers over the fait scar that was present on her arm that Bellatrix had left, forever marking her as 'Mudblood'. Rose looked at her mother, tears in her eyes before leaning over and giving Hermione a tight squeeze. "I'm so proud of you Rosie."

* * *

"Scorpius!" Astoria Malfoy called to her son.

"Yes mother?"

"Your grandfather would like a word with you. He's in the drawing room." Scorpius swallowed hard as he made his way down the corridor that lead to the drawing room. He hated that room, there was something about it that sent chills up his spine. It was the one room in the house that his parents never used, his father avoided it at all costs.

"Scorpius." His grandfather hissed coldly in his arrogant tone. "Come here boy."

Scorpius hesitantly inched his way into the cold, dim room. "Yes grandfather. Mother said that you wanted to speak with me."

"Twenty-five years ago, this room was something great." Lucius began. "It was the headquarters for the greatest wizard who ever graced this planet. Great things happened in this room Scorpius, things that your history books will tell you were evil and wrong, but what the Dark Lord did within these walls, Scorpius, were great things. Your father was too weak to see these acts of greatness for what they were, but you Scorpius, you are stronger then your father ever was."

Scorpius glared at his grandfather as he explained some of the 'wonderful' things that Voldemort had done during the war. "Voldemort was everything wrong with wizards. He was not great, he was evil and a coward and he deserved everything he got. The world is a thousand times better off without the likes of him around."

Lucius raised his cane and smacked Scorpius across the face. "You insolent little fool. How dare you speak of the Dark Lord with such disrespect. You are soft boy, though, considering the company that you keep, fraternizing with mudbloods and blood traitors. I'm disappointed in you Scorpius, you are an embarrassment to the name of Malfoy."

Scorpius looked up at his grandfather, clutching his cheek where the fangs of the silver snake on the end of the cane had hit him. "You're wrong."

"Excuse me? Are you questioning me, you ungrateful child?" Scorpius ignored this. He was sick of his grandfather's antics.

"You're the one who's a disgrace. Malfoy was once a name associated with greatness and power, one of the most respected Wizarding names in all of Britain. You ruined that, not me, not my father, you. The moment you joined Voldemort, you tarnished the name of Malfoy." Scorpius was heaving with anger by the end of his rant and stalked out of the drawing room leaving a furious Lucius Malfoy, wide eyed, clutching his cane in the middle of the drawing room.


	32. The Last First of September

**Chapter 32- The Last First of September**

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own.

**AN: Hey everyone! We are entering the final stretch of this story after well a very long time. Sorry that it's been so so so so sooooo long since I've updated but these past months have been nuts, going on to my 21****st**** essay of the year, safe to say I've had very little free time. Anyways here's the chapter, please R&R.**

**-SM**

Rose awoke bright and early on September first. In a few hours she would be once again bonding the Hogwarts express and heading back to Hogwarts for her final year. She showered and dressed quickly before double checking that she had everything and dragging her trunk down the stairs and joining her parents in the kitchen. A few minutes later, a disheveled Hugo stumbled downstairs, his trunk in tow, joining them.

"We are leaving for Kings Cross in half an hour, make sure that the both of you have everything." Both Rose and Hugo nodded at their mother's words.

"We are so proud of both of you." Ron said, smiling at his children. His daughter was head girl and his son had made prefect, he couldn't have been a prouder of his children.

* * *

An hour later, they were standing on the platform with the rest of the Potter-Weasley clan along with Charlotte and her parents. Rose caught sight of Scorpius from across the platform and waved wildly at him. As the Malfoy's made their way over to join the group, reluctantly on Draco's part, Rose launched herself into Scorpius' arms, much to the horror of both seventeen-year-olds fathers.

Ron cleared his throat and Draco shifted uncomfortably as the two teens sprang apart. The parents bit their children goodbye as they boarded the train. Once on the Hogwarts Express, Charlotte, Al, Lily and Hugo all headed off to the prefects cabin while Rose and Scorpius went to the heads compartment.

"I can't believe it Scorp, this is the last day that we'll be riding this train on September first! Can you believe that we're in seventh year?"

Scorpius laughed at Rose's musings "Time flies Rosie, you never know what's going to happen. If someone had told me seven years ago that a Malfoy and a Weasley could be best friends I-"

"Would have suggested they take a trip to St. Mungo's for a head exam?" Rose finished and Scorpius chuckled.

"Something like that." He smirked "And yet here we are. Let's make it our best year yet."

Rose beamed at him. "Sounds brilliant Scorp." He smiled at her, reaching over and squeezing her hand before turning his gaze to the passing scenery. Rose inhaled sharply as she noticed the two faint purple bruises that stood out against her best friends pale skin.

"Scorp, what the bloody hell happened?" She exclaimed loudly and Scorpius shrugged.

"Grandfather tried to 'teach' me something and I didn't want to hear it." Scorpius told her and she couldn't help a soft smile at his use of air quotes.

"Scorp…"

"Rosie, just leave it alone. I'm fine. I promise you." He smiled at her reassuringly, but she didn't look convinced. "I promise Rosie, don't worry about it."

"But Scorp-' Scorpius gave her a stern look and she knew then that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him on the matter, instead she turned the conversation to a discussion about the upcoming year until it was time for them to begin the prefect meeting.

Rose and Scorpius met with the prefects to fill them in on their responsibilities as well as the events that would take place throughout the year that they would be responsible for helping plan. As the meeting came to a close Rose and Scorpius headed back to their compartment with Rose chattering excitedly about everything that they were planning for the year and Scorpius couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. He loved the way that her eyes lit up as she went on and on about everything that this year promised to hold.

A short while later the train came to a halt at Hogsmeade station. Hagrid's voice boomed out calling for the first years to follow him to the boats as the rest of the students headed off to the carriages for the short ride up to the castle for the welcome feast.

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Weasley, will the both of you please follow me?" The headmistress asked the two heads as the feast concluded. The two seventeen year olds followed with out protest and they were led to a small tower on the far end of the castle and came to a halt in from of a large wooden door with a large knocker on the from, the Hogwarts emblem on it, resembling the one at the entrance to Ravenclaw tower. The knocker came to life as the trio approached but instead of spouting a riddle it simply asked for a password.

"Thestral." The headmistress uttered and the door swung open allowing them passage into the large, well lit common room. There were large couches and tables with bookshelves lining the walls, reminding them of Ravenclaw tower save for the colours, for instead of everything being dark blue the room had hints of red, blue, green and gold, representing all four Hogwarts houses.

"Welcome to the heads dormitory. This will be where the pair of you will live for the year. As head boy and girl you will work closely together throughout the year so it makes sense that you are to share a dormitory. This being said, we are putting the utmost trust in you as to not abuse this privilege of having a private dorm." After another rather awkward ten minutes of the headmistress rambling on about trust and responsibility she bid the pair a good evening and left the dorm. As soon as the door swung shut Rose burst into laughter, earning her an odd look from her best friend.

"You've gone mental Rosie, I swear it."

"I'm sorry Scorp." She croaked out through her laughter. "It's just, you have to admit, that was pretty funny."

"You're absolutely nutters Rose."

"Oh come on Scorp, even you have to admit that it was funny. The headmistress just gave us a ten minute lecture on, how did she put it? Oh yes 'fornicating' in our dorm. Not even my grandmother uses that word." Scorpius couldn't help but crack a smile at this, it was pretty amusing that their headmistress had gone on rather awkwardly for ten minutes about hormones and urges. "See, I knew you found it funny." Rose teased him and pretty soon Scorpius found himself laughing out loud along with Rose at the sheer absurdity of what had just transpired. Once the pair had managed to compose themselves they set off to explore their new dorm.

Rose walked over to the mahogany door on the far right of the common room's back wall. There was a little gold plate that had 'Head Girl' with her name engraved underneath it. Rose slowly opened the door and took in the sight of the beautiful room in front of her. In the center of the room stood a four poster bed, with a soft, fluffy deep blue quilt with bronze silk sheets. A dresser sat beside the door with a mirror mounted on the wall behind it and two matching end tables sat on either side of the bed. On the right hand side of the room sat a large wooden desk beside another door, which she assumed lead to a bathroom. The wall on the left side of the room held a large window with a window seat covered in big blue pillows and bookshelves stood on either side of the window.

Rose opened the door to the bathroom and was in awe at the sight before her. The room was more spectacular then the prefects bathroom. The floor and countertops were a deep blue marble with bronze and silver flecks, contrasted beautifully against the light wood of the cabinets. A large mirror spanned the distance of the countertop. Rose rounded the half wall that was in place for privacy and was blown away by the massive bathtub in front of her.

"Bloody brilliant!" Scorpius exclaimed as he rounded the corner from the other side of the room.

"You can say that again."

Scorpius' room was much the same as her own only his room had a more modern and sleek feel to it. The pair sat in their joint common room, still in awe of their new dorm.

"This place is amazing" Said Rose. "I can't believe that it's ours." Scorpius nodded in agreement and the pair then began discussing their plans for the year, specifically the first Hogsmeade trip which was scheduled for the last weekend in September and the Halloween Dance.

* * *

The last weekend in September came much faster then either of the pair expected. Classes were tough and they got piles of homework every night, not that either of them had expected anything less in their NEWT year. Both Rose and Scorpius were looking forwards to getting out of the castle for a much need break

"Looks like it's just you and me today Rosie. Al and Charlotte went off and be all coupley and whatnot" Scorpius told her as he came into the entrance hall.

"Alright, where do you want to go first?" Rose asked, smiling at the prospect of spending her entire day in Hogsmeade alone with Scorpius. Something in him had changed slightly since his disagreement with his grandfather at the end of the summer. He seemed happier and more confident then before and she loved it.

The pair went into her Uncle's joke shop, which had expanded into Hogsmeade years ago when Zonko's went out of business, and Honeydukes before heading over to a small bookshop. As they walked towards the bookshop, they passed Madame Puddyfoot's and burst into laughter as they saw Al and Charlotte through the window, sitting at a corner table that was covered in an awful pink lace tablecloth. Al's expression was priceless, making Rose wish she had a camera.

"She finally did it" Rose commented. Charlotte had been threatening to take Al to Madame Puddyfoot's since the pair had began dating, but Al didn't believe that she would ever actually do it.

"Always take Charlotte's threats seriously," Scorpius said with a smirk. "Even I know that. The pair of you are completely mental sometimes, but your threats, those are to be taken seriously. If anyone tells you that you won't or can't do something you just have to go and prove them wrong." Rose laughed at his comment.

"Poor Al" she said unconvincingly, failing to contain her laughter.

"Serves him right. This is bloody brilliant. Maybe now he'll learn." Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, you're right, it is Al after all. That bloke can be as thick as they come sometimes. I mean he's know you seventeen years and still hasn't grasped that concept."

"Come on, let's leave the love birds alone," Rose said, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the bookshop. As the pair entered the store that Rose had been looking forwards to visiting all day, Scorpius couldn't help but notice that Rose was still holding his hand and he smiled at that as they wandered through the many shelves.

* * *

Scorpius walked through the corridor towards the heads common room later that night after having finally finished his potions essay that was due on Tuesday. He spoke the password to the brass knocker and the door swung open and his greeting to Rose died on his lips as he took in the rather odd sight in front of him. Instead of sitting at the table near the fire doing her essay, as she normally was, Rose stood in the middle of the common room twisted in a rather odd position with soft, soothing music playing and candles lit to provide a relaxing glow. Her back was towards him as she untwisted herself, lowering her body down and hovering mere inches from the weird rubbery looking mat below her before pressing her hips towards the celling, making a triangle shape with her body and giving him a nice view of her ass. She must have caught a glimpse of him through her legs because she stood up and spun around to face him.

"Finish your essay?" She asked him. He nodded in response, taking in the sight before him. Rose stood with her hands on her hips in a pair of very short, tight black shorts and a very tight, red tanktop.

"What was that?" He asked, pointing somewhat awkwardly to the rubber mat in the middle of the room and Rose laughed.

"It's called yoga, it is a very popular activity for Muggles. It's very good for relation and stress relief." She told him. "Charlotte taught me a few years ago, we used to do it in our dorm all the time and I take classes at a muggle studio in the summer time."

"Right…" Scorpius said skeptically.

"It's quite fun, want to give it a try?" Scorpius looked at her as if she had sprouted two extra heads and she laughed. "I'll take that as a no then?"

"No, I think I'll pass." He said, a weird expression set on his face as Rose turned, still laughing, and rolled up her mat.

"Do you want me to revise your essay then?" Scorpius nodded and handed her his parchment as they sat down at the table by the fire where most of Rose's quills and parchment sat. As her quill scratched across his parchment, Scorpius couldn't get the image of her doing her yogurt thing, or whatever it was that she called it, out of his head.


	33. History in the Making

**Chapter 33- History in the Making**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

**AN: Hey everyone. Thanks for sticking with me even through the long hiatus. There are only two more chapters after this one so we are nearing the end of this story. I have began writing another Scorpius/Rose story called A Serpents Tale, which I will begin uploading hopefully shortly after I get the last couple chapters of this story uploaded, so keep your eyes open. Thanks for reading, please R&R**

**-SM**

It was a couple of weeks before Halloween when the History of Magic class that Rose had been dreading since the first day of school arrived. It was a normal Thursday, double Potions followed by Charms in the morning with Ancient Runes and Arithmancy followed by History of Magic in the afternoon. Potions had been the same as usual, brutal, but Rose had enjoyed every moment of it. They had brewed the Elixer to Induce Euphoria in class today, and despite the relatively few ingredients, the instructions were very complex. Professor Dira was excessively tough on the seventh years to ensure that they would be prepared for their NEWTs come June. The young Potions master was easily Rose's favourite professor and she excelled in the tough, grueling lessons, being the only student in the class to brew a flawless Elixer that morning.

Charms hadn't been much easier then their double potions class, for on top of the newer, complex spells they were learning, they were going back and beginning to review all the spells from prior years that they would need to remember to pass their NEWTs.

By the time that History of Magic rolled around, everyone was exhausted from a long day of lessons and dreading the pile of homework that they would have to complete after class was dismissed. Rose entered the stuff classroom and took her usual seat beside Scorpius in the middle of the room, with Al and Charlotte filling the desk in front of them. The mood in the classroom was noticeably different then usual. Instead of the blank stares and silence that normally filled the room prior to class, everyone was chattering excitedly about the topic for that days lesson. They had been learning about the Great War this year and today the topic was about how the Golden Trio were captured by snatchers and how they escaped to shell cottage. Rose drew a shaky breath. Unlike most of her classmates, she had been dreading this class all term. She was not looking forward to listening about how her mother was tortured and branded once again, but she was also worried about how her classmates would react to Scorpius after learning the extent of the involvement his father and grandparents played. She also was worried about Scorpius, for she feared that his parents had not elected to share the extent of their involvement in this part of the war, having been trying for so long to put it behind them.

Rose took a deep breath and glanced at Scorpius as Professor Binns began class. His expression was solemn and for the first time ever, she saw what appeared to be a form of emotion in her professors eyes, telling her that he was dreading this lesson as much as she was.

Binns droned on in his monotone voice about Bellatrix torturing her mother, and Rose could feel the tears prickling behind her eyes and the many looks that other students in the class kept shooting her. She also could feel the icy glares that her classmates kept shooting at her best friend, who looked as though he was going to be sick at any second. Rose was determined to stay strong and not let her emotions get the best of her. Even though she had heard all of this before, sitting through it in a classroom was very overwhelming. Her parents had sat her down during the summer time, knowing full well that it would be better for her to hear all the terrible details of the war from them before learning about them in a classroom. They did not hold back, they told her everything in gruesome detail not sparing her of anything.

She glanced at her best friend once again as Binns spoke about Bellatrix using a whip on Hermione and ultimately carving the word 'Mudblood' on her arm. As Binns began going into more detail about the specifics, Scorpius bolted from the classroom. Rose called after him but he just kept running so Rose did the only thing she could, she ran after him.

* * *

Sitting in History of Magic as Professor Binns droaned on unsympathetically about his Aunt's torture, Al couldn't help but feel sorry for his cousin and Scorpius who were seated behind of him, barely holding it together as they lived through the event that had occurred during the war that had probably been the worst thing to happen to both of their families. It was hard enough for Al to hear these things, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for Rose to hear about the worst thing that had ever happened to her mother be analyzed so technically and emotionlessly. He also couldn't imagine being Scorpius right now, listening to all the worst things that his family had ever done laid out in a classroom and what his Aunt had done to his best friends mother. Al stole a glance at the pair behind him. Rose was blinking back tears and Scorpius looked as though he was going to be sick as he too blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

Binns launched into a deeper examination of what had happened to Hermione, including particular curses that she used and how she branded his Aunt's arm and Scorpius bolted from the room. Rose called after him, but he didn't stop and she too bolted form the room seconds later, following the blonde. Mummers from their classmates filled the room, gossiping about what had just occurred, as Binns continued to drone on. Rose and Scorpius did not return to class, so Charlotte and Al gathered their belongings at the end of class and brought them to Ravenclaw Tower. The couple briefly considered going to search for their friends but ultimately decided to leave them be.

* * *

Scorpius felt sick as he sat in the History of Magic room, listening to all the terrible things that his Aunt had done to his best friends mother, the women who had welcomed him warmly into her home and treated him as she did one of her own children, nieces and nephews. He could see that Rose was struggling to keep it together, and it pained him to see the tears in her bright hazel eyes. With every word that came out of Professor Binns' mouth, Scorpius felt increasingly more ill and could feel the tearing prickling in his own eyes as well. He sat there listening to the Professor go on and on, blinking back the tears in his eyes until he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to get out of there; he couldn't listen to this anymore. He honestly wouldn't blame Rose if she never wanted to see him again after learning about all of these horrible things that his family had done to hers. He could feel his eyes burn and his throat constrict as he ran from the classroom, not caring what his classmates would think and just ran. He heard Rose call out his name, but he just kept running until he reached the Astronomy Tower, where he sunk to the ground and just let everything go. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he thought of everything he had just heard. He didn't balme Mr. Weasley for not wanting Rose to associate with him and his family. After what his Aunt had done to Hermione, he couldn't believe that anyone in Weasley/Potter family, especially Mrs. Weasley herself, had ever been nice to him at all.

Scorpius just sat there for what felt like hours, trying to process everything that he had just learned. He had never before been so ashamed of his family as he was at this moment. After hearing all this, he couldn't believe that Rose and Al were friends with him at all and that their families had opened their homes to him and treated him like family. He didn't feel like he deserved to be treated so kindly. His family was horrible and cruel for doing something so horrible to a family so kind, caring and full of love. The Potter's and the Weasley's didn't deserve any of that to happen to them. In that moment he wished that he was anyone else, that he wasn't a Malfoy. He knew that everything would go back to how it had been before with all the looks, the judgment, and the resentment from everyone around him because of his surname and the evil that it brought with it. He would finish his time at Hogwarts the same way it had began, alone and friendless. After everything he had worked for, proving to everyone that he was more then just a Malfoy, in one class, that would all be taken away. Scorpius stood up on shaky legs and leaned on the edge of the astronomy tower, just staring into the distance, which is exactly how Rose found him.

* * *

Rose had dashed out of the classroom just seconds after Scorpius, but he was already out of sight before she could catch him. She looked everywhere she could think, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tower, their heads dorm, the Room of Requirement, Prefects bathroom, the lake, the clearing, Hagrid's, she looked everywhere but couldn't find a trace of him. She had to find him and reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere. She was his best friend and it didn't matter to her what his family did in the past, what mattered was who he was, and how he defined himself differently then his family had in the past. Her mother, in spite of all of this, had always welcomed Scorpius with open arms and that was more then enough for her. Rose ran up the stairs to the Astronomy tower as fast as she could. It was the only place left that she could think of that he would be. She rounded the corner of the top of the stairs and opened the door. She climbed outside and found her best friend leaning against the edge of the tower, just staring into the distance.

"Oh, Scorp." She said aloud, he voice just loud enough for him to hear and he turned to face her. His eyes were red and bloodshot from crying and despite his height he looked like a small child standing in front of her. It broke her heart to see him like this so she did the first thing that she could think of and wrapped her arms around him, lightly burying her head in his chest. He hesitated for a moment before slipping his arms tightly around her and he buried his face in her hair. That was her undoing, everything that she had been holding onto she just let go of. She let the tears come as she cried for her mother, her uncle, everyone who had been lost in the war and for her best friend who unfortunately was associated with all the evil that had occurred during the war. She clung to her best friend as if her life depended on it and he did the same to her. After their tears subsided they just stood there, clinging onto each other for what felt like eternity.

"I'm so sorry Scrop," she said into his chest, breaking the silence. Scorpius pulled back a bit so he could meet her eyes. Rose was remarkable. In spite of everything, here she was, standing before him with such compassion and caring in her bright hazel eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Rosie. Never," he whispered.

"No one should have to hear that kind of thing about their family in a classroom. You are such an amazing person Scorp, one of the best people that I know," Rose told him and he looked at her with an expression of shock and awe on his face. Rose was one of a kind and she continued to surprise him every day.

"But I'm a Malfoy," He whispered softy, staring at his shoes.

"Only in name. Your surname doesn't define who you are as a person, never forget that Scorpius. Never. You are the kindest person I know and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. You have a big heart, a kind heart. You may be a Malfoy, but you are not a _Malfoy_. If people can't see what I see in you then they aren't even worth your time. You define who you are, you aren't anyone but yourself Scorp, your families past actions don't determine who you are, the only person who can do that is you. In spite of everything that your family has been through, just look at yourself Scorp, you're brilliant, wonderful at Quidditch, Head Boy. You've accomplished so much. Sure your family is always going to be your family, but only you are you, Scorpius, not them. You have friends that love you, I love you." His sharp grey eyes bore into her hazel ones with more intensity then she had ever seen before. He raised his right hand and stroked her cheek softly.

"Thanks Rosie," he said. She was the one person who always called him by his first name. With her, he was just Scorpius. She had always been kind to him even when he didn't really deserve it. She was his best friend, sure they had fought over the years but she remained the sole person he could trust with every fiber of his being and in the end, which was all that mattered. She had been the one constant in his life, even in the years before they became friends. She accepted him for who he was and got to know him in spite of who his father was and what his family did in the past. In her eyes, he was Scorpius, not Malfoy, and he would forever be grateful to her for that simple fact. Because of her, he didn't have to live in the shadows of his families dark past, she gave him the chance to show everyone that he wasn't just another Malfoy, but his own person. Out of everyone he knew, she was the one person who had every right to hate him for his family name and yet she was the one person who never had.

"For what?" She questioned softly, a confused look gracing her soft features as she chewed on her lower lip, making him smile at how cute she looked.

"For being you." He stated it as a simple fact, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. With that, on top of the Astronomy tower on that beautiful autumn afternoon, Scorpius bent down and captured his best friends soft pink lips with his own.

**AN: Two chapters in one day. The last two should hopefully be up in the next couple weeks. Please R&R.**


	34. On Top of The Astronomy Tower

**Chapter #34- On Top Of The Astronomy Tower**

Rose was on cloud nine, she couldn't believe that it was finally happening after years of waiting, she was actually kissing Scorpius and not in an I got trapped under my mother's enchanted mistletoe kind of way. The pair pulled back after what seemed like eternity and Scorpius rested his forehead against her own and she just looked into his eyes and she saw it. Every emotion, every feeling, everything that everyone had ever told her that he felt for her was there, plain as day in his icy grey eyes. She took a sharp breath and his eyes fell as he mistook her reaction as rejection. He began to pull away, but she placed her small hand on his shoulder and he stopped, a confused look spreading across his features. She smiled tenderly at him and brought her hand up onto his cheek before bringing her lips to his in a sweet kiss.

As the pair pulled away from each other, Rose tried to put everything she felt for him into one look. Scorpius studied her for a moment just as she had previously done to him and he broke out into a wide grin. He opened his mouth to say something but she placed her slender fingers on his lips, effectively silencing him. She slid her hand into his and walked with him back over to the ledge. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a soft kiss onto her temple. She rested her head on his shoulder as they stood contently in the silence, enjoying the view of the grounds beneath them. They stood there in the silence, content in just being with each other, until the sun began to set over the horizon.

The pair eventually made their way back to the common room, making a quick stop at the kitchen for a summer.

"Ro" Charlotte exclaimed, rushing toward her. "Where the bloody hell have you two been! You all but sprinted out of History of Magic and no one has seen you since! We looked-" Charlotte stopped abruptly in the middle of her rant when she noticed the pair clasped hands and burst into a wide smile "Does this mean that you two finally came to your senses?" Rose just smiled and nodded as Charlotte engulfing the pair in a crushing hug.

"What did I miss?" Al asked, confused at the sight before him. Charlotte simply smiled and pointed at the clasped hands of his cousin and friend. Al smirked "Well it's about bloody time! I was about ready to lock you two in a broom cupboard, you've been driving me mental for years!" he exclaimed and the other three laughed. "What?"

"Glad we could make your life easier Al." Scorpius teased before kissing Rose softly.

"Aww eww! Can you not do that in front of me?" Al said, a look of horror spread across his features.

"And five seconds ago you were happy for us." Rose said.

"Just because I'm happy that you two finally came to your senses, does not mean that I want to see my best mate and cousin snogging each others faces off."

"No promises" Rose said, as Al gave her a disgusted look.

"Fine. But I want to be there when you tell Uncle Ron." Scorpius visibly paled at the mention of Rose's father. The one thing that he was definitely not looking forward to was having a conversation with Ron Weasley, it very well could be the last conversation that he ever had.

"Oh come on Scorp, it won't be that bad. Believe it or not, my father doesn't hate you."

"That was before he knew I had romantic feelings for his daughter." Rose smiled at him softly.

"It'll be fine Scorp." Rose told him squeezing his hand. "He'll come round."

"Yeah, after he murders me." Scorpius said under his breath.

"Don't worry Scorp, it'll be fine. I won't let him do anything to you."

"He's a fully trained Auror Rosie"

"He's also my father, he wants me to be happy no matter what. You make me happy Scrop, he'll come round. I promise." She told him, looking tenderly into his eyes and softly kissing him once again.

"Did I not just tell the pair of you to not do that in front of me." Al exclaimed in disgust, earning a shoulder smack from Charlotte.

"Oh come on Al, they're happy, now why don't we go work on that Charms essay." Charlotte said

"But there's... Oh" Al followed Charlotte out of the common room leaving Scorpius and Rose to enjoy their new found happiness.

* * *

The winter ball came sooner then anyone could have imagined. Rose had been on edge for weeks trying to make sure that everything was perfect for the ball, which they had been planning since the beginning of the year.

Rose and Scorpius stood in the center of the Great Hall with mere hours before the ball was to begin surrounded by the many school prefects levitating the last few decorations into place. The Great Hall looked even more beautiful then either of them could have imagined. Iridescent snowflakes were spread across the hall making it look like a true winter wonderland. White table cloths covered circular tables that were spread around the edges of the great hall, leaving the center of the Great Hall open for dancing. The head mistress had changed the ceiling so that the ceiling imitated a snowy night sky. It was perfect.

Once the decorations were finished, Charlotte dragged Rose up to Ravenclaw tower to get ready for the ball. Rose was nervous, not only for the ball to go smoothly, but how the members of the Potter/Weasley family would react to her change in relationship with Scorpius.

Rose took a deep breath as Charlotte put the finishing touches on her hair.

"Everything will be fine Ro." Charlotte told her friend in a reasoning manner. "The Great Hall looks marvelous, the ball will be perfect, you did a wonderful job organizing it."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Rose told her friend.

" Rose. Look at me. Everything is going to be fine." Charlotte repeated sternly to her friend. "Your family loves you and they like Scorpius enough that as soon as they see how happy the pair of you are together they'll be happy for you. At least Fred and James have graduated." Rose laughed at her friends statement. "Ready Ro."

Taking one final look in the mirror, Rose followed Charlotte out of Ravenclaw tower and down to the entrance hall where Scorpius and Al were waiting.

"Will you stand still mate, you're making me dizzy with all your pacing." Al exclaimed to the nervous Malfoy beside him.

"Sorry. It's just..." he trailed off midsentence.

"Everything is going to be fine mate, Rose adores you and the family has warmed up to you over the years. You have nothing to worry about."

"How can you be so sure, it's different now. Rose and I are dating, not just friends anymore."

"Scorpius, don't worry about it. The girls will be ecstatic, Louis will be happy because he won the- uh I mean-"

"Won what?" Scorpius asked his friend in an accusing tone, getting a sheepish smile in return from his friend. "Albus Severus Potter. Louis won what?" He said more sternly.

"Uh well you see..."

"Albus..."

"There may have potentially been a bet going around about when the pair of you would pull your heads out of your arses and get together, and Louis may have been the winner of said bet." Al told his friend grudginly.

Scorpius smirked. "Best not mention that to Rose. She'll Avada the lot of you on the spot."

"We know. Which is exactly why _you_ aren't going to say anything to her."

"I don't know Al, I can't just go keeping secrets from my girlfriend. Plus, it could prove to be quite entertaining." Scorpius told his friend with a sly smirk.

"You're sure your in the right house? I think you may have tricked the sorting hat." Al teased.

"Says the Griffindor afraid of a girl half his size." Scorpius teased in return.

"Hey, she my be small but she has her father's temper." Scorpius paled at the mention of Ron. "Don't worry mate, I'm sure Uncle Ron won't kill you..."

"Thanks. I feel loads better now." Scorpius said sarcastically.

"Oh come on mate, you'll have Aunt Hermione on your side, and Uncle Ron loves her more then anything. Plus, the only thing worse then being on the wrong side of Uncle Ron's temper is being Uncle Ron on the wrong side of Aunt Hermione's temper. He still flinches whenever he sees birds after that one incident..."

"What about Hugo? And Fred, and James? Victoire, Dominique, Teddy? Your Aunts, your Uncles?" Scorpius groaned. "I'm a dead man aren't I?"

"It won't be that bad, sure Hugo will attempt the overprotective brother thing, but he'll be fine. Fred and James will be their usually selves but either their mums or Rose will sort them out. Dom and Victoire have always thought you two would be perfect for each other, and Teddy just wants Rose to be happy. As for the rest of the family, I'm pretty sure they've been waiting for this since the day you and Rose became friends. Trust me mate, no one will be killing you anytime soon. Unless you break Rose's heart then all bets are off."

Scorpius opened his mouth to retort but stopped when he heard Rose's voice. "Ready boys?" Rose and Charlotte descended down the steps and the boys jaws hit the floor.

Charlotte wore a white strapless dress that flowed down to her knees with baby blue beads laced the entire dress. Her long black hair flowed down her back as straight as a pin, a baby blue crystal clip held her bangs out of her eyes. Rose wore a silver dress that swept the floor sparkling with sequins. A slit ran up the left side of the dress stopping in the middle of her thigh. Her dark auburn hair sat in perfect ringlets brushing off into a shoulder height side ponytail, exposing the open back of her dress.

"Scorp, you ready?"

"Uh..." Rose laughed. "You look beautiful Rosie."

* * *

Rose and Scorpius were the talk of the ball, having come in with their hands clasped. Rose's cousins and brother had reacted in the expected manner which put Scorpius more at ease about the eventually meeting of the rest of the family as Rose's boyfriend. Until then, however, the cousins had been sworn to secrecy.

As Scorpius spun Rose around the dance floor he wondered for the first time how his own family was going to react when they found out about him and Rose. He'd been so concerned with her family accepting him, he never once thought about how his family would take the news.

"Scorp?"

"Yes love?"

"Are your parents going to be alright with this?" She asked him timidly, as if she'd read his mind. Scorpius smiled at the petite redhead in his arms.

"Don't worry about it Rosie, everything will be fine. I'll make sure of it."


	35. New Beginnings

**Chapter # 35**- **New Beginnings**

"In these past seven years at Hogwarts I have learned many things both inside and outside the classroom. Each of these lessons is one which I will take with me as I move beyond my life here at Hogwarts and into the real world. A life beyond Hogwarts may seem scary to many of us who sit here today, but with the strength and skills that we have learned over the past seven years, I am confidant that each and every one of us are ready to take our next steps into the world. We must have faith in ourselves and in others because you never know what a person may surprise you. Out years at Hogwarts are full of many wonderful memories and friendships that we will carry forth into the next chapter of our lives. Congratulations to each and everyone of you and good luck on your future endeavors." Applause filled the Great Hall as Rose finished her speech. She smiled widely at Scorpius and returned to her seat next to him.

The headmistress then announced that the reception was to begin and with a flick of her wand, buffet tables appeared around the edges of the hall. Scorpius took Rose's hand and lead her out into the dance floor in the middle of the room.

Ron and Hermione walked around the crowded great hall for the first time in many years. They spotted Harry and Ginny off in a corner talking with Charlotte's parents, who still had looks of awe at the enchanted castle in which they stood. Harry locked eyes with Hermione and nodded towards the dance floor where Hermione saw her daughter and Scorpius Malfoy embraced in a sweet kiss.

"Hermione, what are you-" Ron stopped mid sentence when he saw the sight before him. His jaw dropped and he imitated a fish for a few moments while he tried to find his voice. Harry laughed in the distance at the expression on his best mate's face. "She... He... but... how... what... Malfoy..."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the dumbfounded expression on her husbands face. The song ended and Rose spotted her parents, dragging the reluctant blonde towards them with her.

"Congratulations sweetheart." Hermione told her daughter.

"Is dad alright?" Rose asked her mum, while Ron still stood there mouth hanging open, unsure of what to do with the new information he just gained.

"Oh don't mind your father, he'll find his voice eventually, I reckon he needs a few moments to process this new development."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was currently being dragged through the Great Hall by his wife searching for their son. Draco wasn't exactly thrilled to be back at Hogwarts after all these years, but he was proud of his son for making a name for himself away from the dark past that came with the Malfoy name. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted his son in the middle of the dance floor kissing Rose Weasley before being dragged over to her own parents. Draco was speechless, it wasn't that he didn't like Rose, she was a lovely girl it was more her family that he was unsure of. With all the bad blood in school between him and her family he wasn't sure how the group would get along. Astoria too had spotted her son and dragged her resisting husband over to the Weasley's.

Astoria greeted Hermione warmly as Ron and Draco just stood there glaring at each other.

"Daddy" Rose said, placing her hand softly on to her fathers shoulder. Ron looked at his daughter and then to the young Malfoy who stood beside her, clasping her hand as if his life depended on it and he sighed.

"Break her heart and mark my words you'll regret the day that you were ever born Mal- I mean Scorpius." Rose broke into a wide smile and hugged her father.

"Thank you Daddy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ron smiled at his daughter, she was no longer the little girl who would crawl into his lap and he'd read stories to her, she was all grown up and ready to start a life of her own and he felt a twinge of something that he couldn't quite place before swallowing his pride and sticking his hand out to his old school enemy reminding himself that he was doing this for Rose.

Draco looked at Ron's hand skeptically for a moment before awkwardly shaking it. "Well Malfoy, looks as though we're going to have to learn to tolerate each others presence." Both men grimaced before plastering fake smiles onto their faces.

"It would appear so." Draco told Ron coldly. With that Scorpius and Rose excused themselves and went to find Al and Charlotte leaving their parents to awkwardly say goodbye.

As Ron and Hermione walked away from Draco and Astoria, Hermione turned to her husband, "That was very mature of you Ron." She told him.

"I still don't like it Hermione. Out of every bloke in this entire school my daughter had to pick Malfoy's kid." Hermione laughed to herself and shook her head. She knew that Ron and Draco Malfoy would probably never like each other, but at least they'd be able to be in the same room with each other. "What?"

"Nothing." She responded. She decided to wait until later to point out to her husband that it was more or less his doing that Rose and Scorpius had become friends in the first place. "Come on, lets go find Harry and Ginny."


End file.
